Lance Armstrong’s RadioShack team goes to sports court over Tour of Lombardy snub

RadioShack goes to court over Lombardy race snub

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Lance Armstrong’s RadioShack team appealed to sport’s highest court Friday after being left out of the Tour of Lombardy lineup.

RadioShack said it wants the Court of Arbitration for Sport to rule on whether Italian organizer RCS Sport broke a contract by not including the American team in its event on Oct. 16.

“We just want to go to the race. We want that RCS fulfills its commitment,” team spokesman Philippe Maertens told The Associated Press.

The Lombardy agreement was made in January when RadioShack informed RCS it would not be racing in the organizer’s three-week Giro d’Italia in May, Maertens said.

Officials from RCS declined comment to the AP on Friday.

RadioShack, which says it learned of its exclusion this week through the media, has asked the Lausanne-based CAS to issue a ruling “as soon as possible” and consider awarding it compensation.

The court confirmed receiving the appeal on Friday, but has not scheduled the hearing.

If restored to the race, Maertens said RadioShack’s squad would likely include American Levi Leipheimer and Slovenian rider Janez Brajkovic, who was second in Lombardy two years ago. Armstrong was never an intended starter after announcing his retirement following the Tour de France in July.

The Tour of Lombardy is among the five most established one-day classics.

It’s the final big event of the season and the last chance for riders and teams to earn points in the International Cycling Union’s world rankings.

RadioShack is 11th of 30 in team rankings. It missed a chance to collect points in the three-week Spanish Vuelta when it was denied an invitation by race organizers.