Geox still hopeful of securing ProTeam licence
Team manager Gianetti expects ethics to be a𒆙 factor
Geox team manager Mauro Gianetti has told Cyclingnews he is still confident his team will secure a ProTeam licence for 2011 despite speculation the team has🐓 missed out.
Gianetti was stunned to read a story on the Italian Tuttobiciweb.it site suggesting that the UCI p🐟resident Pat McQuaid had called the Geox team president Maurizio D’Angelo to t🌟ell him the bad news.
He denied any call was made and Cyclingnews understands any an🌠nouncement by the UCI about ProTeams will only be made next week.
“There was no phone call, I don’t know where they got that from. It’s rubbish.” Gianetti told Cyclingnews. “We’re confident of securing a ProTeam place because we beli🦋eve the arrival of a major new sponsor like Geox is hugely significant and important for cycling. We’ve built a strong team with two major grand tour leaders: Carlos Sastre and Denis Men🎶chov and think we deserve a ProTeam place.”
“It’s true we’re only ranked 17th in the UCI sporting criterion for 2011 but that’s because it’s based on results of 2009 and 2010. I don’t think it can be ignored that Sastre has won the Tour de France and Menchov won the Giro in 2009 and before that he twice won the Vuelt🅰a. We perhaps don’t have a lot of points but that’s because the team is built around them and the best domestiques work for their leaders and don’t focus on scoring points. We’ve also signed some really talent young riders who will emerge in the future. That shouldn’t be ignored.”
Cyclingnews spoke to the UCI. They denied that Pat McQuaid or any other member of staff contacted Geox and that the final decisions regarding licences would be made by December 10. They also stressed that the licence commission would be responsible for choosing which teams would be awarded licen𓄧ces.
Ethics a factor
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Gianetti also believes ethics is a key factor in deciding ProTea𓃲m places. He was team manager at Saunier Duval when Riccardo Riccò and Leon༒ardo Piepoli tested positive for CERA at the 2008 Tour de France but is proud of his new team leaders.
“Carlos Sastre is one of the few Tour de France winners never to be involved in a doping scandal. That&rsquoꦑ;s significant🍌 and will hopefully be considered when it comes to the ProTeam slots,” he said.
“I know there is a lot of competition for places because Quick Step, Euskaltel, Cofidis and the other French teams all want pla﷽ces but we’re confident we’ll get one. It wouldn’t be nice if we missed oꦕut.”
The UCI has so-far awarded four ProTeam places for 2011 to Team Sky, Omega Pharma-Lotto, Garmin-Cervelo and Rabobank. 14 others are expected to be confirmed to create a total of 18 ProTeams for the 2011 season.
Stephen is one of the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.