Apparently Specialized is upset also, here's an article I found at BRAIN.
Specialized Requests Industry's Support In Lobbying Tour Organizer
MAY 29, 2003 -- MORGAN HILL, CA (BRAIN)--Despite winning the world championship road race, a handful of major European races and a record 42 Giro d'Italia stages, Mario Cipollini and his team have not been invited to the Tour de France. Mike Sinyard, Specialized's founder and president, requested the industry join the many pro riders, companies and individuals protesting the decision of the Tour organizers to exclude Cipollini's Specialized-sponsored Domina Vacanze team.
"In coordination with Mario's team and with sponsor Domina Vacanze, we also encourage the rest of the cycling community to make its feelings known, forcefully yet respectfully, through more letters, faxes and posts to online polls and discussion groups," Sinyard wrote in an open letter to the bike industry.
Sinyard quoted four-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong who gave three reasons for Cipollini's inclusion in the three-week stage race.
"First, Cipollini is the world champion," Armstrong said in Sinyard's letter. "Second, Cipollini is the best sprinter in the world, so even on a technical level it's a mistake not to invite him. Third, Cipollini is a really big personality and he's very popular in cycling. The more champions there are, the better, and the more difficult the race is, the more passionate the fans are."
Jean-Marie Leblanc, the Tour's organizer, said there is a ten percent chance Domina Vacanze could still be invited.
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Booyah!!