Vuelta a España director says RadioShack snub based on ‘sporting criteria’

Vuelta a España race director Javier Guillén defended his decision to leave RadioShack out of this year’s edition.

RadioShack was not among six invited teams revealed Monday to join 16 pre-selected squads to round out the 22-team field for the season’s third grand tour, set to start Aug. 28 in Sevilla.

Guillén denied rumors that RadioShack was not selected due to recent comments from Floyd Landis accusing some current members of the team of past doping practices.

“There is no evidence to back up Landis’s claims,” Guillén told the Spanish sports daily AS. “Our criteria were strictly sporting.”

RadioShack team manager Johan Bruyneel expressed his shock when the team was overlooked Monday.

Although Lance Armstrong was not planning to race, the team was going to bring four strong candidates for final victory with Levi Leipheimer, Chris Horner, Haimar Zubeldia and recent Critérium du Dauphiné winner Janez Brajkovic.

“It’s a good team, you cannot question that,” Guillén said. “Every fan will their preferences, but for us, the list of teams is ideal for our race. Because none of the 16 teams renounced their spot in the Vuelta, as a consequence, we could only invite six extra teams.”

Getting nods were Xacobeo-Galicia, Andalucia-CajaSur, Katusha, Team Sky, Cervélo and Garmin-Transitions.

FILED UNDER: News / Vuelta a España TAGS: RadioShack / Vuelta a España