Rick Delaney angry at Tour of California: Founder and owner of Irish ProContinental team Aqua Blue Sport, Rick Delaney, has voiced his anger at the Tour of California. Above, celebrating with Peter Koning after Stefan Denifl had won stage 17 of the Vuelta last year (Photos by Karen M Edwards)
Rick Delaney not happy at all with Tour of California
Having enjoyed an aggressive and successful opening season last year, many would feel Aqua Blue Sport has every right to be angry at being snubbed by some race organisers this season.
And now team owner Rick Delaney has hit out at the Amgen Tour of California.
The Irish ProContinental team was very much hoping for a ride in the race. And with US national road race champion Larry Warbasse on its roster, those hopes seemed reasonable.
However, the race has announced its wild card invites. And Aqua Blue Sport is not on that list.
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Rick Delaney took to social media to vent his annoyance. “Unfortunately no wild card invite for California this year,” he said.
Delaney added it was clear the US national champion’s jersey “won by Larry Warbasse is unvalued by the race organisers”.
He believed the lack of an invite amounted to “complete disrespect shown to the jersey and Larry and all it represents”.
Delaney signed off with apparent sarcasm saying, “thanks for the support”.
The team got off to a great start last year; the icing on the cake an invite to the Vuelta and a stage win there.
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However, since then the invites have not flowed as freely as the team hoped. And being a ProContinental squad, the Irish outfit is dependent on wild cards.
It is only the WorldTour teams in pro cycling that are guaranteed their place on the start line of all the major races.
The team was not invited to the Giro, though that was perhaps not unexpected as the team’s ambitions really lay with the Tour de France and Vuelta.
But when RCS, which owns the Giro, also revealed its wild card invites to its other races, Aqua Blue Sport was again missing from those lists.
These included Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico and Milano-Sanremo. ProContinental teams were invited to each one; seven such teams to Milan-Sanremo.
Hopes were high for a Tour de France invite, which never eventuated. Furthermore, when Tour owners ASO issued invites for its other events Aqua Blue Sport was also not included.
These races were Paris Nice and Critérium du Dauphiné; to which other ProContinental teams were invited.
Vuelta wild card not expected this year
And the cycling grapevine has long suggested there will be no invite back to the Vuelta later in the season. However, all of the wild card invites to that event are still to be confirmed.
Given the Irish team secured a Grand Tour invite in its first season, being overlooked now in its second year looks unusual.
In reality, the competition for places on these major evens is intensifying all the time. And Aqua Blue Sport perhaps far overshot the mark by securing that Vuelta 2017 invite.
But hopefully the team’s luck will soon turn on the race invites front.
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