The International Cycling Union (UCI) has threatened to stop Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) holding the upcoming Paris-Nice, unless it respects the rule that states all 20 ProTour teams start every race on the ProTour circuit. The race is sanctioned by the UCI and can be held only if the organizer respects all UCI rules and regulations.

According to several team managers at Doha, where the Tour of Qatar is taking place, the UCI has sent a letter to all the ProTour teams telling them that ASO's decision not to invite Unibet.com to Paris-Nice could see the French organizer banned from organizing the March 11-18 stage race.

ASO, that also run the Tour de France, has, along with the organizers of the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España, refused to officially join the ProTour circuit. ASO race director Christian Prudhomme told AFP, “The ProTour system is a closed system, an economic system that we have denounced since the start.” He added, “Cycling is a sport that has its roots and Paris-Nice is part of those roots.”

But by giving only 18 ProTour teams automatic entry to Paris-Nice, giving a nineteenth, Astana, a wild-card slot and not inviting Unibet.com, Prudhomme provoked anger from the UCI, the ProTour teams and their riders. Last week, the UCI was asked to find a solution to Unibet’s exclusion, and its letter to the 20 ProTour teams indicating a threat to stop ASO holding the race seems to be the prelude to a possible escalation in the ongoing power struggle between the UCI ProTour and the three grand tours.