The two Swiss riders of Footon-Servetto-Fuji, David Vitoria and Noé Gianetti (l-r), join Mauro Gianetti for a picture.(Image credit: Karlis Medrano)
Carlos Sastre waits patiently.(Image credit: María Rodríguez)
Look! I'm riding with Denis Menchov!(Image credit: María Rodríguez)
Geox-TMC manager Mauro Gianetti has denied rumours that an administrative error cost his squad a ProTeam licence for 2011. On Friday, it was revealed that Gianetti’s team did not receive a wildcard invitation to the Tour de France.
A report in Spanish newspaper El Pais claimed that Carlos Sastre’s points had not been added to Geox-TMC’s tally when the UCI was forming its sporting evaluation of ProTeam applicants. However, Gianetti has moved swiftly to quash suggestions of a bureaucratic error, either on the part of Geox or the UCI.
“Let there be no doubt,” Gianetti told Tuttobiciweb.it. “I assure you without fear of being contradicted that there was no bureaucratic error.
“The International Cycling Union assigned 117 points to Carlos Sastre in the special rankings that were used to determine Pro Tour licences. His points made up 20.5% of the total number of points attributed to Team Geox-TMC. Full stop.”
As well as missing out on participation in the Tour de France, Geox-TMC has failed to be invited to Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico, although the team will be on the start line for Milan-San Remo.
The wildcard invitations for the Giro d’Italia have yet to be announced, although it is understood that Androni Giocattoli and Farnese Vini-Neri are already assured of two of the berths.
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Barry Ryan was Head of Features at Cyclingnews until 2024. He is currently Editor-in-chief at Domestique. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.
