Angry Team RadioShack demand cycling shake-up after Vuelta exclusion• Manager Johan Bruyneel furious after team's omission
• 'It's high time for professional cycling to become professional'
(10)Tweet this (10)Press Association guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 15 June 2010 11.46 BST Article history
Team Radioshack rider Lance Armstrong (second right) during the Tour of Luxembourg. Photograph: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP
Team RadioShack manager Johan Bruyneel has called for a shake-up in the running of professional cycling following his team's exclusion from the Vuelta a España.
Bruyneel was angered that his team, co-owned by Lance Armstrong, did not receive one of the six wildcard places on offer from organisers Unipublic for the 22-team Spanish tour, despite moving up six places to eighth in the world rankings released on the same day as the list.
They also have the 11th- and 12th-ranked riders in the individual rankings: Janez Brajkovic, who rose 39 places from number 50 after winning the Criterium du Dauphiné Libéré on Sunday, and Christopher Horner, who won the Tour of the Basque Country. And Levi Leipheimer was victorious in the Tour of the Gila.
Bruyneel feels the time is now right for changes to the way the sport is run and that he is the man to take on the International Cycling Union (UCI).
"It is high time for professional cycling to become professional," he said. "The structure of our sport needs to change towards a model of other successful professional sports like soccer, tennis, formula one etc.
"Even if some parties don't like to see or hear this, I will do anything in my power to contribute to making this happen. Up until now it has never been accepted that a team manager stands on a soapbox to defend the rights of the teams and the riders. We always have to accept; we don't have many rights.
"After this I take it as a personal mission: from now on I will fight for the interests of the cycling teams. It will be more than just a goal. I will work for it as hard as I've worked for my own team.
"In cycling there are three parties: UCI, organisers and teams/riders. Unlike in other professional sports, the teams and riders are the main actors who are never heard. I will fight for our rights and for other things that rightfully belong to us but we never get.
"There is an abuse of power. Some organisers take away the hunger of potential sponsors to invest in our sport. It is unjust that a new sponsor [RadioShack], coming into cycling with a lot of enthusiasm, is not rewarded for their financial input.
"I cannot accept or understand this decision. With Levi Leipheimer, Andreas Klöden, Chris Horner and Jani Brajkovic we had four potential Vuelta winners on the roster we sent to Unipublic.
"For me it is hard to explain to my sponsor that 22 other teams are apparently better than us – especially when it isn't true. These actions are unfair to our sponsors as well as a blow to our fans."
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