The Arkea-Samsic (open in new tab) team declined the chance to compete in the Giro d'Italia (open in new tab) in order to focus on the 2022 Tour de France (open in new tab) and the Vuelta a España, and to secure a spot in the 2023 World Tour He confirmed that.

The French pro team earned automatic invitations to three Grand Tours thanks to its second place in the 2021 pro team rankings, behind Alpecin Phoenix. However, team manager Emmanuel Hubert and key riders Nairo Quintana, Conor Swift, Warren Barguil, and Nasser Bouhani are fighting to gain as many ranking points as possible to secure one of the 18 WorldTour teams in 2023 They are fighting to get as many ranking points as possible to secure one of the 18 World Tour teams in 2023. They need to be in the decisive top 18 teams in the three-year point standings, ahead of their main rivals such as Cofidis, Lotto Soudal, and Team DSM. Arkea-Samsic is off to a strong start, with Quintana winning the Tour de la Provence.

The 18 WorldTour teams are automatically invited to all WorldTour races, and Alepine-Phoenix will qualify for three Grand Tours and other major WorldTour races by topping the 2021 ProTeam rankings.

Arkea-Samsic's decision means that a third Italian team will likely earn a wildcard invitation to the Giro d'Italia, with Bardiani CSF Faizane, Drone Hopper Androni, and Eolo Comenta They are eager to participate in the race, which will take place in Budapest on Friday, May 6. However, Gazprom Rusvelo and Uno X could also qualify, especially after the Scandinavian team was passed over for the wild card for the Tour de France.

"We deeply respect the Giro d'Italia, the RCS company, and its history, but unfortunately we will not be competing in this Grand Tour this year. We will only compete in two three-week events, the Tour de France (ASO) and the Vuelta a España (Unipublic), with the main leaders and experienced riders," said Emmanuelle Hubert, team manager of Arkea Samsic. [2022 is an important season in the history of Alcare Samsic, and our sports department has established a strategy to achieve our goal of achieving the World Tour.

"This was not an easy decision to make as the rendezvous with the Giro d'Italia is not this year, but we are confident that in the very near future the Giro d'Italia route will intersect with the Alcare Samsic formation."

RCS Sport recently named teams for Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico, and Milan-San Remo, and Arkea Samsic has been invited to all of the races due to its 2021 pro team ranking.