The owners of Acqua & Sapone are furious to have been excluded from the 2012 Giro d'Italia. The news of the exclusion came as a surprise to Enio and Nando Barbarossa, the owners. "If this is the case, after twelve years, perhaps the time has arrived to leave cycling," said Enio Barbarossa. "It's a decision that forces us to seriously think about saying farewell."
The 2012 team had added Danilo DiLuca, who was to be the captain; DiLuca won the Giro in 2005 and was suspended following a positive doping test during the 2009 Giro d'Italia. The team also includes the popular Stefano Garzelli, winner of the 2000 Giro and green jersey (Mountains classification) in 2009 and 2011; Garzelli was also involved in a Giro doping scandal, in 2002.
The team is currently in Francavilla a Mare for its start of season preparations.
Michele Acquarone, Managing Director at RCS Sports, tweeted, "As I already said it's a hard choice: 12 requests for 4 wildcards: 4 teams happy and 8 unhappy, 1/3 fans happy and 2/3 unhappy."
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