March 3, 2007 – Much is still in doubt about the 2007 ProTour cycling season as organizers find themselves at odds with the UCI. ProTour organizers in France, Italy and Spain are defying the UCI regarding the way their races are managed and organized. Usually it’s the cyclists who stage breakaways, but now it’s the ProTour organizers – Tour de France owner, Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), Tour of Italy (RCS), and Tour of Spain (Unipublic) – with support from the cycling federations in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium. These three grand tour organizers, besides owning the three biggest bike races in the world, also own about half of the races on the UCI ProTour calendar.

The first big test of wills will be ASO’s Paris-Nice race scheduled for March 11-18, which that may not be included in the UCI ProTour racing calendar.

The cycling federations of Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain have called for the urgent creation of a working group independent of the current antagonists in this debate according to a recent AFP report.

“A compromise is necessary for the proper functioning of cycling and this has to be done before the start of the 2007 Giro (on May 12),” states a press release from the federations. They also lay blame for the current impasse on the UCI’s exercising of “regal authority.” The federations conclude by referring to “a concept that nobody still believes in anymore called “˜UCI ProTour.’ “

A meeting between the UCI and the race organizers is being put together for Monday. “It is the last-chance opportunity,” said Patrick Lefevere, head of the 17-member International Professional Cycling Teams (IPCT) according to AP.

“We have some very big problems,” admitted the UCI’s Pat McQuaid to USA Today while at the Amgen Tour of California where he held discussions with the directors of nine ProTour teams competing.

The UCI and the ASO have been at loggerheads regarding how ProTour events should be managed. The UCI issued a license to Swedish-Belgian team Unibet to compete in Paris-Nice, but ASO refused to invite Unibet. RCS and Unipublic then supported ASO by not inviting Unibet to the Giro or the Tour of Spain. Unibet cyclists then jokingly blanked out the team’s name on their jerseys, replacing it with a question mark.

As reported earlier, because the two groups have been unable to resolve their differences the ASO requested that the French cycling federation downgrade the Paris-Nice race to a national event, meaning that it would no longer fall under the jurisdiction of the UCI. But this same move means that ProTour teams are forbidden from racing. A recent press release from the UCI explains that, “teams holding a UCI ProTour licence and UCI professional continental teams will not be allowed to take part in this (Paris-Nice) race.” However, at least six major teams – Rabobank, T-Mobile, Cofidis, Bouygues Telecom and Francaise des Jeux – will race the Paris-Nice according to a recent Reuters report.

“Riders can’t be the hostages of a political fight. We will contest the Paris-Nice,” said Cofidis team manager Eric Boyer.

Following this news were reports casting doubt over the Reuters story and the situation remains unclear. It was also reported that the teams have postponed a decision on whether they will race at Paris-Nice.

There have also been suggestions from the ASO that teams not competing in Paris-Nice might not be invited to the 2007 Tour de France as reported by AP yesterday.

The Cyclistes professionals associés (CPA) – which represents pro cyclists in Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany – indicated that it is unhappy with teams participating in Paris-Nice, but will not prevent them from doing so. “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,” according to a report by AFP. The CPA added that its statement should not be interpreted as support for the breakaway group.

It’s hoped by all players that a satisfactory resolution to this situation is reached at the last-chance meeting on Monday.