March 27, 2007 — The list of teams invited to participate in Paris-Roubaix race has been revealed and it doesn’t include Unibet. Race organizer, the Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) has invited 24 teams to participate, including the 18 ProTour teams and six other teams (Astana, Wiesenhof, Chocolat Jacques, Landbouwkrediet, Agritubel, and Skil). Unibet was the only ProTour team not invited to Paris Roubaix according to an AFP report.

Due to the controversy, Unibet had announced that it was intending to race in France this year with an orange-and-black jersey emblazoned with the name of one of its minor sponsors, Canyon, in lieu of its official green-and-white kit. Unibet, an online betting service, was attempting to circumvent a French law prohibiting publicity for gambling houses other than for state-owned Francaise des Jeux. There is also a cycling team sponsored by Francaise des Jeux.

“I’m waiting for an explanation from ASO with great interest. The deception is enormous; this is incomprehensible,” Unibet’s team manager, Koen Terry, told Velo-club.net.

The April 15 Paris-Roubaix race is one of the key spring classics and was first run in 1896. Despite its name, the race leaves from Compiègne, and not the French capital. The one-day race is about 250 km, including sections on cobblestones, and is nicknamed both “the queen of classics” and “the northern hell”. The 2006 race was won by Fabian Cancellara (CSC) of Switzerland.