Armstrong's RadioShack out of 2010 Giro d'Italia

Lance Armstrong's RadioShack team will not ride the 2010 Giro d'Italia (May 8-30).

The US-based squad was not included in the list of 22 teams invited to the 2010 Giro, announced by race director Angelo Zomegnan today.

RadioShack did ride Milan-San Remo at the weekend, but it did not race Strade Bianche or Tirreno-Adriatico (both organised by RCS Sport) since the team had told Zomegnan it would skip the Giro to focus on the Tour of California.

Cadel Evans' BMC Racing Team and the British-based Team Sky have both been invited. Sky will face its first Grand Tour with Bradley Wiggins and Dario Cioni.

Wiggins plans to aim for the race's opening time trial, an 8.4-kilometre stage in Amsterdam. If he wins, he would be only the second Brit to take the race leader's pink jersey after Mark Cavendish and could hold it through stage four's team time trial in Cuneo, Italy.

Wiggins said in December, "I will aim for the prologue in Holland and the time trial in Verona."

Cavendish's HTC-Columbia team received an invitation, but Cavendish himself will skip the race to compete in the Tour of California instead. Cavendish said on Friday, "It makes sense, we have American sponsors."

Russian Denis Menchov announced earlier that he would not return to defend his title, but his Rabobank team will race, bringing for the first time Oscar Freire, winner of San Remo.

No Ricco

Another team missing from Zomegnan's invite list was Riccardo Ricco's Ceramica Flaminia outfit.

Ricco returns to racing at the Coppi & Bartali stage race this week, his first race back after serving a 20-month suspension for using banned blood-boosting drug CERA, a form of EPO, at the 2008 Tour de France. Ceramica Flaminia also failed to receive an invitation to Saturday's Milan-San Remo.

By next Monday, March 29, all teams must submit 15 names from which their final nine-man teams will be selected.

Giro d'Italia 2010: Team list

Ag2r La Mondiale

Acqua & Sapone

Androni-Diquigiovanni

Astana

Bbox Bouygues Telecom

BMC Racing

Caisse d'Epargne

Cervelo TestTeam

Cofidis

Colnago-CSF Inox

Footon-Servetto

Garmin-Transitions

HTC-Columbia

Katusha

Lampre-Farnese Vini

Liquigas-Doimo

Milram

Omega Pharma-Lotto

Quick Step

Rabobank

Saxo Bank

Team Sky

Reserves

CarmioOro-NGC

Ceramica Flaminia-Bossini Docce

De Rosa-Stac Plastic

ISD-Neri

Skil-Shimano

Vacansoleil

Giro d'Italia 2010 coverage in association with Zipvit