The UCI remains taciturn about Katusha's WorldTour place

Arriving in Ireland yesterday to verify that the 2014 Giro d’Italia will commence in Belfast before moving on to Armagh and Dublin, Michele Acquarone lamented about the continued silence on the part of the UCI and spoke about logistical and financial difficulties as a consequence of the decision Court of Arbitration for Sport to reinstate Katusha as a WorldTour team.

“It was such an important decision but there wasn’t even a telephone call. I’m astonished that nobody called us and that when I telephoned, nobody called us back,” Acquarone told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.

Acquarone added that he was more worried by the logistical repercussions of the situation than the extra expenditures.

“You can absorb the costs. Money problems can always be solved,” Acquarone said. “The problem is more to do with the quality of the event. Today I don’t know if I’ll be able to have 23 teams on the boat to Ischia for the third stage of the Giro, e.g. The logistics are already complex there, so imagine if you had a similar situation coming here next year. That’s a problem. The agreement was that the WorldTour would have 18 teams. But with 19 teams, it’s become our problem and we have to find a way to make it work.”