Wednesday 23 January 2013 23:21, UK
Katusha's hopes of being invited to ride at the Tour de France received a major blow on Wednesday when they were overlooked for wildcards for both Paris-Nice and the Criterium du Dauphine.
NetApp-Endura team manager Ralph Denk said: "Riding the famous Dauphiné is a great honor for us. "The Dauphiné is decisive in our racing schedule leading up to the summer, because our season goals remain unchanged. We want to compete in a Grand Tour again this year. We will reward the confidence the organisers are placing in the team." The other invites for the Dauphine, which takes place from June 2-9, have been awarded to French teams Cofidis, Europcar and Bretagne-Seche. The wildcards for Paris-Nice, which takes place from March 3-10, were given to Cofidis, Sojasun, Europcar and newly formed Swiss team IAM Cycling.
