The Giro d'Italia peloton in Pola (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Giro d'Italia director Michele Acquarone chats with Katusha directeur sportif Valerio Piva.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Matteo Rabottini (Farnese Vini-Selle Italia) being chased by the devil(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The Colombia - Coldeportes before the start(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
RCS Sport has awarded Giro d'Italia wild card invitations to Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox, Fantini Vini–Selle Italia and the Colombia team, with NetApp-Endura, IAM Cycling and Katusha missing out on places at the corsa rosa. Androni Giocattoli secured an automatic wild card place thanks to winning the 2012 Coppa Italia race classification that includes all the minor Italian races.
Some of the teams that missed out on place in the Giro d'Italia have been awarded wild card places in Tirreno-Adriatico, Milano-Sanremo and Il Lombardia.
RCS Sport apparently considered Katusha as a Professional Continental team and the Russian team has been invited to Tirreno-Adriatico with MTN-Qhubeka, NetApp-Endura and Vini Fantini.
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MTN-Qhubeka, Africa's first Pro Continental team, opted not to ride the Giro d'Italia in its first season at that level, but the team impressed RCS Sport and secured rides in both Tirreno-Adriatico and Milano-Sanremo, where team leader Gerald Ciolek could have a chance in a sprint finish.
25 teams will ride Milano-Sanremo: the 18 WorldTour teams plus Androni Giocattoli, Katusha, MTN-Qhubaka, IAM Cycling, Bardiani, Vini Fantini and Team Europcar.
The five-member RCS Sport wild card commission studied the dossiers of the ten teams hoping to secure invitations to the major Italian races, considering the strength of the riders but also their marketing and communication strategies and their importance to promoting the Giro d'Italia globally.
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Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
