One year for Bella Jorg
Comments
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Expect the UCI to wade in and over rule then.
What are the odds on them appealing it to CAS?0 -
Well, McQuaid appears to be conceding the fight with the GT's over the Pro Tour, so something strange might happen. If the UCI do appeal then they're not interested in fixing anything.
Edit later : Just read the Clerc reckons he "fears for the future of cycling" after reading the proposals. What genius could the UCI have come up with this time!Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.0 -
I can't attribute this but I've heard from a very reliable source that the UCI are considering a ProTour next season without ASO races. :shock:0
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andyp wrote:I can't attribute this but I've heard from a very reliable source that the UCI are considering a ProTour next season without ASO races. :shock:
I wondered about that.
And if they did, would they apply the same rules races like Het Volk are subject to and only allow 5 teams with Pro Tour licenses to compete. That would be a nail in the coffin for the PT because who on earth would want a licence?Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.0 -
If that's true, the UCI still don't get it. The Pro Tour is an answer to a question few were asking. The whole point of the PT was a way of guaranteeing sponsors a ride in major races like the Tour de France, to end the uncertainty about investing in a team and then being able to get exposure in the sport's biggest even. A Pro Tour without the Tour de France, Paris-Nice, Paris-Roubaix or Liege-Bastogne-Liege is a very dull series. Why bother to buy a licence if all guarantees you a start in the Het Volk or the Tour of Poland, a poor return for the fees and legal hassles involved.
Anyway, the biggest sponsors won't care because, say Quick-Step or CSC can ride what ever races they want and the smaller teams don't care to pay the UCI.0 -
Kléber wrote:Why bother to buy a licence if all guarantees you a start in the Het Volk or the Tour of Poland, a poor return for the fees and legal hassles involved.
Anyway, the biggest sponsors won't care because, say Quick-Step or CSC can ride what ever races they want and the smaller teams don't care to pay the UCI.
Het Volk isn't part of the PT.
Ahhh, but they can't you see. If there are say 18 PT spots and the rules remain as they are but ASO races are excluded from the PT then only 5 PT teams could compete in Paris-Roubaix.Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.0 -
bipedal wrote:looks like it'll be a protour without grand tours... so a bit like the old system then.
Mmmmm, but if Oracle Andy is right, then no Paris-Roubaix, LBL, Paris-Tours, Paris-Nice, and if ASO do it, we can assume the Italians will remove M-SR and Lombardy too.Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.0 -
The whole Protour thing has been a farce. The Champions League works in football and the ATP tour works in tennis.
Whilst the UCI's attempts to have cycling stabilised with long term sponsors and an elite group of riders competing in the top races are commendable, this was never the solution.
The old World Cup had established itself and was beginning to work, it didnt need the grand tours included.0 -
iainf72 wrote:bipedal wrote:looks like it'll be a protour without grand tours... so a bit like the old system then.
Mmmmm, but if Oracle Andy is right, then no Paris-Roubaix, LBL, Paris-Tours, Paris-Nice, and if ASO do it, we can assume the Italians will remove M-SR and Lombardy too.
but from mcquaid's statement (http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/Gra ... 44493.html) it looks like he's trying to keep the ASO one-dayers in the PT but has conceeded that the tours don't fit that well0 -
A few comments from Jorg here
In an interview with Sport-Bild magazine, he said, "So far no team has offered me a contract. If I don't find a new team by February 2008, I will be forced to end my career. But in that case all the big talk about the fight against doping would just be worthless."Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.0 -
"If you don't want to hire me, you're complicit with doping"
that's an innovative strategy to sell yourself... :roll:0