Lampre confident in keeping ProTour licence

Italy's Lampre-Farnese Vini team is confident it will be part of cycling's top-level ProTour next year. Team manager Giuseppe Saronni is working with the International Cycling Union (UCI) to make sure his team meets the requirements to keep its licence.

"I'm optimistic," Saronni told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "The problem is that the revision mechanism becomes stricter every year. I will wait to hear from the UCI what information they need from us, but I don't think it will be a problem."

The UCI ProTour Council (UPTC) requires teams to submit a registration application on an annual basis. The application allows the UCI to check that a team meets regulations, particularly administrative and financial.

The UPTC confirmed the registration of 17 teams yesterday, including Alberto Contador's team Astana. However, it left off Lampre and referred the decision of cancelling its ProTour licence to the licence commission.

Lampre is the team of Damiano Cunego and Alessandro Petacchi. Cunego won two stages of the Vuelta a España this season and Petacchi, signed for 2010, should bring the team sprint victories.