The team manager of Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec team is still fighting to get his team into the Giro d’Italia.
Gianni Savio proposed the idea of expanding the field to include a hybrid team of the two Italian ProContinental teams left out of the selection, with four riders each from the Androni Giocattoli and Nippo-Vini Fantini teams.
“We had results in Venezuela at the Vuelta al Táchira, we won the first stage. We had three podiums at Tour de San Juan, Egan Bernal first in the young rider classification, the team second in the team classification after Bahrain-Merida and Rodolfo Torres third overall. So this is a big, big injustice,” Savio told Cyclingnews. “This is the biggest injustice in my 33 years of professional cycling.”
RCS Sport has awarded four wildcard invitations for the 2017 Giro d’Italia. Bardiani-CSF, Wilier-Selle Italia, CCC Sprandi Polkowice and Gazprom-Rusvelo are the pro-continental teams invited to the Corsa Rosa. Only two Italian teams were given the nod, leaving Nippo – Vini Fantini and Androni – Sidermec off.
“I will continue. There are some rumours the team will disappear, but that will not happen. For sure, 100 per cent I continue. I don’t know if we continue as Androni Giocattoli but Sidermec, the second sponsor have confirmed and Lauretana, the water company, confirmed as well,” he said. “I think that Androni told me that he don’t continue because he was angry with this big injustice but I think I can maybe convince him.”
