Androni Giocattoli has once again secured a wildcard invitation to the Giro d'Italia by being the best pro continential team in the Italia race series Coppa Italia. The team finished 2nd behind Lampre-Merida which was enough to secure a chance to ride the Italian grand tour.

As the team has done so many times in the past, Androni Giocattoli has secured an invitation to the Giro d'Italia by performing well in the Coppa Italia which is a season-long race series consisting of some of the most important Italian races. The team finished 2nd behind Lampre-Merida whose status as a ProTeam give them a guaranteed presence in the Italian grand tour, and so the coveted invitation is given to the Gianni Savio's team.

For many years, there has been an agreement between the Italian cycling federation and Giro organizers RCS Sport that the best pro continental team in the Coppa Italia will be awarded a wildcard for the next edition of the Giro d'Italia. Every year, Savio has made it one of his biggest targets and he puts great emphasis on the series.

In Saturday's Giro dell'Emilia, Franco Pellizotti finished 4th and that was enough for the Italian team to keep main rivals Bardiane Valvole-CSF Inox and Vini Fantini at bay. Diego Ulissi's run of success meant that Lampre-Merida took the win but that was of no big concern for Savio.

"Mission accomplished," Savio told Cyclingnews. "Lampre-Merida closed the gap on us in the final races but we finished ahead of Vini Fantini and Bardiani. They're our direct rivals for wild card places. The Coppa Italia was our objective for the season. We've done it again!"

The Androni team has had plenty of success in the Giro. Jose Rujano won the mountains classification and finished 3rd in 2005 and Michele Scarponi was 4th in 2010. In addition to these results, the team has taken numerous stage wins, most recently in 2012 when Miguel Angel Rubiano and Roberto Ferrari both raised their arms in triumph.

This year the team failed to win a stage but they will now get a chance to make amends next year.