February 10/12 12:20 pm - UCI Pro Council Meets, Licence Commission to Rule on Saxo Bank Status

Posted by Editoress on 02/10/12
 

The Professional Cycling Council (PCC), presided by Mr. Vittorio Adorni (ITA) met in Geneva, Switzerland on February 9-10.

In his opening speech, the UCI President, Mr. Pat McQuaid, reiterated the importance of the role of the PCC via its representatives from teams, riders and organizers in contributing to protect core values of the cycling community.

The PCC took note that further to the CAS decision earlier this week concerning Alberto Contador, the UCI will today ask its Licence Commission to issue a ruling on whether the Saxo Bank-Sungard team should retain its place in the UCI WorldTour. If the points obtained by Alberto Contador, representing approximately 68% of the Saxo Bank-Sungard team's total points, are disregarded, his team would no longer be considered to fulfil the sporting criterion required for the UCI WorldTour.

During its two day meeting the PCC approved the principle that a change could be introduced to the 2012 UCI WorldTour Calendar, with the addition of a new event in China. The five stage event would run from Wednesday to Sunday during the week following the 2012 Tour of Beijing.  Called the “Tour of Hangzhou”, it would be held in the area surrounding Hangzhou, a city with a population of 8.7 million in Southern China. It would thus become the 28th event of the UCI WorldTour calendar. It would also be the fifth to be held outside Europe after the Tour of Beijing, the Tour Down Under in Australia and the GP Cycliste de Québec and the GP Cycliste de Montréal in Canada. The Tour of Hangzhou must now apply to the Licence Commission for a UCI WorldTour licence in order to complete the administrative process.

Pat McQuaid lauded the decision: “It is a natural step for cycling which is currently enjoying a period of huge growth worldwide. This will generate great visibility for teams and riders and can be expected to give a big boost to cycling. The injection of funding directly benefits the sport with financial returns from the new races re-invested into cycling and also profiting teams and other stakeholders down the line. It is no secret that success breeds success and the current boom in cycling is good news for cyclists and cycling lovers across the board. We are very pleased with today’s decision which comes as part of UCI’s ongoing sustainable development of the sport.”

President McQuaid reiterated UCI’s commitment to investing in development at grass roots level and outlined that the WorldTour success has allowed the reinjection of considerable funding into training and development at regional, national and international level for men and women. He explained that the WorldTour is also expected to bring some direct returns for the athletes, teams and stakeholders involved in the future.

The PCC also approved a request from the Tour de Pologne to run from July 27th to August 3rd, 2013, thus including an additional day. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Tour de Pologne.

The PCC also approved a change to the rules so that UCI ProTeams who have not submitted all essential documentation as per art 2.15.069 bis by October 20th, which is by the date of the sporting evaluation, would be excluded from the UCI ProTeam registration process.