The managers of Lampre-Merida have told Italian rider Filippo Pozzato to pull himself together and that the team doesn’t need any “prima donnnas”.

“We’re not happy, and we’ve told him this, just as a company should tell its employees,” Lampre general manager Brent Copeland told Italy’s Tutto Bici website. “What’s not good is his attitude towards the team. He is not respectful of his teammates, or the team’s internal rules. He cannot wear his own shoes at will, while all the other use shoes with the team’s colors."

“Take [Wednesday], the whole team left for [the Vuelta a España] in the morning, he made his trip in the afternoon. We do not really need prima donnas, we just want racers who act professionally and show their talent. And ‘Pippo’ doesn’t lack talent.”

Pozzato has always had talent, winning 2 Tour de France stages, 1 Giro d’Italia stage, Milan-Sanremo, Het Niuewsblad, Tirreno-Adriatico, E3 Harelbeke, Vatenfall Cyclassics and, most recently, GP Plouay last year. He also has multiple podiums in Sanremo and The Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, although a win eluded him in the final two.

In July, Pozzato had talked about retiring from the sport to Italian paper La Gazzetta dello Sport:

“I was fed up,” Pozzato said. “Many things weren’t working, and I’m not just talking about the results. The differences with the team. The feeling that I’m considered a person who doesn’t give a damn, when it’s exactly the opposite. I’m the first one to be upset when things don’t go right."

“Is it all OK with the team? I’d rather not talk about that, I’d rather think about the races.”

He won three one day races last year and looked to be returning to form, saying that in the 2014 Classics, he had a strong base but lacked a final punch. Copeland however, pointed out that he still has no WorldTour points to his name.

“I take the responsibility,” Pozzato continued. “A lot of shit has been thrown on me, but there aren’t problems. For sure, it wasn’t for the lack of working hard. I’ve tried to change my training, less quantity and more intensity.”

Pozzato now takes aim at the World Championships, where he should be a member of Davide Cassani’s squad. He is using the Vuelta as a springboard to form but a good result here would do him the world of good.

“In a time of crisis like this, where it is difficult to keep open a team, it’s not tolerable that there is someone who does not understand the situation,” said Copeland. “For us Pippo is an asset, a key point of the team, and for this reason we have sent him to the Vuelta. Has the opportunity to show off and earn a spot in the Italian team for the worlds. But it’s not a good move to act like one who doesn’t understand. I don’t like when someone acts as the victim, when that’s not the case.”