Lampre Farnese Vini general manager Giuseppe Saronni got some unexpected news yesterday when it was announced that his team’s registration for the 2010 season had been declined by the UCI.
Many were focussed on the question of whether or not Astana would get the nod, which it duly did, but few foresaw that the Italian team would encounter difficulties.
Saronni said he was caught unawares, and is now trying to rectify the situation. “The decision of the CUPT (UCI ProTour Council) is surprising,” he told tuttobiciweb.it. “Now we are waiting to know which aspects of our dossier the UCI is asking for clarification. Certainly, at this moment I’d prefer to be thinking about [preparing for] the sporting aspect of 2010, while I am forced [instead] to deal more in administrative and bureaucratic areas.”
Lampre recently had its ProTour licence renewed for four years, apparently ensuring that it would be part of the UCI’s top-ranked series between 2010 and 2013. However yesterday’s announcement pertained to the registration of the teams, which is a year-by-year check that they can satisfy the necessary requirements.
The UCI has not yet indicated where Lampre fell down, saying simply that the matter has been referred to the Licence Commission ‘which will make a decision on whether or not to withdraw the UCI ProTour licence held by that team.’
Saronni has vowed to sort everything out. “I am ready to get to work, as always, to clarify this as soon as possible and ensure that Lampre Farnese Vini has the place it deserves in the cycling elite.”
Although 2008 world champion Alessandro Ballan has left the squad for BMC Racing, the team has a strong lineup. It will feature riders such as Damiano Cunego, Alessandro Petacchi and Danilo Hondo plus many others. This season it finished thirteenth in the UCI’s World Ranking, and Cunego was twelfth in the individual classification.