JLT-Condor and Raleigh-GAC have expressed their disappointment in having not been selected for this May’s inaugural Tour de Yorkshire.
Sixteen teams will compete in the three-day event [May 1-3], including the domestic Madison-Genesis, NFTO, One Pro Cycling and Wiggins squads.
JLT won 10 UCI-ranked events in 2014 – more than the other British squads combined, albeit in its Rapha Condor guise – while Raleigh won two stages of the 2013 Tour of Normandy.
“I feel it’s a smack in the face,” said JLT-Condor team manager John Herety.
“We’re a team which aims to develop young British riders, and riding the Tour de Yorkshire would have given us a greater profile that we could have put towards attracting and developing even more of them.
“This won’t help our cause; why would young riders sign for us if we can’t get in the Tour de Yorkshire?"
Furthermore, Herety also pointed out his squad's links to the region in which the race will take place.
“We’ve got three Yorkshiremen in our team: a double Olympic champion in Ed Clancy, as well as Tom Moses and Graham Briggs. The latter two both won UCI-ranked races in 2014, and the third stage of the race goes right past Tom’s front door in Keighley.”
Raleigh-GAC's Cherie Pridham told Cycling Weekly: "It's a decision that's out of my control; unfortunately I didn't have a say in it.
"Everybody in the team was hoping that we would get selected, but that's bike racing. We'll try and find another event to compete in."
