The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) has told Team Milram today that they would not be invited to Paris-Nice this year. This is bad news for Germany's only ProTour team, and likely won't help with their search to replace the Milram sponsorship which ends this year.
It wasn't all bad news for the team though, as the organisation also confirmed that this will be the only one of their races that they will be excluded from this year.
"Jean-François Pescheux of the ASO informed me of the decision over the phone. But he also guaranteed us a starting permission for all other ASO races," explained Gerry van Gerwen, General Manager for the team.
The second half of the message is extremely important, as it secures invites to Classics like Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogen-Liège, as well as marquee stage races like the Dauphiné Libéré and, most importantly, the Tour de France.
With new teams like RadioShack and Team Sky the competition for race invites is tougher than ever. "Naturally, it's disappointing for us," said van Gerwen, "but of course we have to respect the ASO's decision. But it also means that we have to find an alternative racing program to Paris-Nice and revise the riders' schedules for the next races."
Team Milram's is ready to race and, after the winning the Skoda King of the Mountains title at the Santos Tour Down Under with Thomas Rohregger, will now head to the Tour of Qatar and the Tour of Oman to continue their good start. The team's schedule for 2010 will be based around the Giro d'Italia, Vuelta à Espana and the Tour de France, as well as the traditional classics and the five "Monuments of Cycling".