http://www.tdf-tours.com/http://www.spyns.com/
Lance Armstrong's RadioShack team was left off the list of 22 squads invited to the Giro d'Italia on Monday. Armstrong had already announced that he would not compete in the May 8-30 race, but there was still a possibility his team could enter with other riders.
According to Armstrong, RadioShack apparently never intended to the race the Giro. Armstrong wrote on his Twitter account Monday: "Interesting 2 read that (at)teamradioshack not selected 4 the Giro. Unrelated - guess they got our letter Jan 23 saying we wouldn't be coming." Armstrong apparently ended up on bad terms with Giro organizers after helping arrange a rider protest during the Milan stage of last year's race, in which the seven-time Tour de France winner finished 12th. Instead, Armstrong is slated to ride the Tour of California in May. The Giro is one of the most watched bike races in the world so it's highly unlikely Armstrong's Radioshack sponsors would have passed on such a plum photo op. With the snotty Twitter post, it would seem that Lance is living up to his reputation as a prima donna.
Organizers said they received requests from 31 teams. Armstrong's former team Astana was invited even though two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador - who also won the 2008 Giro - is not expected to ride. Riccardo Ricco's Ceramica Flaminia team was announced as a reserve squad, which could take the place of one of the 22 selected teams if organizers deem a switch is necessary before the race starts. Ricco recently finished his 20-month ban for doping at the 2008 Tour de France and his first race back will be the five-day Coppi&Bartali event in Italy this week.
The BMC squad of world champion Cadel Evans was invited, as was Rabobank, which features defending champion Denis Menchov and Saturday's Milan-San Remo winner, Oscar Freire.Also included was Sky with British standout Bradley Wiggins, and the Cervelo squad with former Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre.
Spyns is an active travel company based in Whister, BC (Canada) and Beaujolais France. Spyns offers active holidays to Europe including trips to the 2010 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2010 Tour de France tours, please visit http://www.tdf-tours.com/, http://www.spyns.com/, or call 1.888.825.4720.
