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Riders' association unhappy with UCI-ASO squabble
Professional teams caught up in a mounting feud between cycling's world ruling body and major race organizers have announced they will not boycott the first major race of the season next week.
The UCI ruled last week that teams aiming to take part in the Paris-Nice stage race would be doing so against the rules of the ProTour, which the UCI introduced more than two years ago.
Paris-Nice organizer Amaury Sports Organization (ASO), which also runs the Tour de France, recently declared that it would remove the event from the ProTour calendar and conduct it under the auspices of the French cycling association because of a difference of opinion over how the series should be run.
The organizers of the Giro d’Italia (RCS) and Vuelta a España (Unipublic) have joined with ASO in defying the UCI over the ProTour. The three companies account for 11 of the races on the UCI's ProTour schedule.
Despite several attempts at negotiations the dispute has led to a lengthy stalemate that leaves riders and teams caught in the middle. And the international body that represents professional cyclists (CPA) issued a statement Saturday indicating that they are not happy about the situation.
"The CPA would like to state to the organizers of major races that its members (cyclists) will not stand in the way of the wishes of their employers (teams)," the statement read.
"If the teams decide to contravene the wishes of the UCI and participate in Paris-Nice, then the riders will be at the start line. But we will not be happy, and we don't want our presence to be interpreted as a gesture of support to the organizers."
Last month ASO took its defiance a step further when it announced that Unibet.com, which recently spent millions making sure its team met all the criteria for ProTour status, would not be invited to Paris-Nice.
Recent talks between the warring parties broke down before even getting started last week, and the UCI issued a harshly worded statement on Friday.
"To oppose the UCI is the same as opposing the outcome of a democratic debate of all parties involved in cycling. Nobody is allowed to do this, unless they advocate anarchy, where each one decides to follow the rules which serve its interests (even if that has consequences which are harmful for everyone)," said the UCI statement.
The CPA statement, meanwhile, called on the UCI to resolve the dispute as quickly as possible.
"The UCI has a moral obligation to lead the sport towards a solution to the problem," the riders’ organization said. "Its leaders should not become involved in a war of prestige or personal pride."
