December 20/10 13:47 pm - Pegasus Sports Refused Pro Continental Licence

Posted by Editor on 12/20/10
 

The UCI has announced that Pegasus Sports will not be issued a Pro Continental licence for the 2011 season. The team orginally hoped to obtain a ProTeam (Division 1 licence), but was refused. It then was considered for a Pro Continental licence (Division Two), and received additional time (until December 15th) to secure the necessary financial guarantees, after its original sponsor pulled out. Team Director Chris White stated that he had secured the sponsorship just before the deadline, however, the UCI is not satisfied, stating:

On the basis of the file submitted to it within the established deadline and taking into account the opinion of Ernst & Young, the UCI Licence Commission today decided to refuse the registration of the Australian team Pegasus Sports as a UCI Professional Continental Team.

This decision brings the registration procedure for 2011 to a close for first and second division. Therefore, there are 23 teams registered as UCI Professional Continental Teams for next season.

This leaves a number of professional riders scrambling for teams, including Canada's Svein Tuft. Tuft spoke to us before the deadline, saying that he and his agent were exploring a number of options. Steve Bauer, the co-owner of SpiderTech p/b C10, told us in an interview at his teams first camp that he was very interested in adding Tuft to his roster.

If Tuft does not sign with a ProTeam or Pro Continental team, he will not be able to ride any major events (such as the the Quebec ProTour events, Tour of California, etc.)

"We are shocked that the license was denied," stated Chris White, Pegasus Sports CEO. "The team was already prepared for the 2011 season and we worked really hard after the news from last week. Significant cost reductions were made and additional sponsorship both from within our existing sponsor base and an external group was gathered, in order to stabilise the team financially in the short term. The people within the organisation were at the centre of this action and commitment, which is a real testament to the mateship within the team. We do not want to give up. The team is exploring whether there are other options for next year."