Crisis Averted
Well, for everyone that matters anyway.
In an emergency meeting called by the riders, the organisers of the three grand tours and the UCI met to hammer out a tentative agreement to get through this season. The ASO, RCS, and Unipublic have agreed to allow all but Unibet and Astana into their races for the year. Meanwhile, it has been agreed that these two recent additions to the pro tour will be looked upon "favorably" when considering wild card slots.
So after all the name calling and posturing, we basically end up in the same place we started. Philippe Gilbert from Française des Jeux, spoke with Vers l'Avenir before this resolution was made. "They are not even concerned to know the thoughts of the cyclists; no one has asked us and our voice is lost." The clever irony over this statement is that the issue that has arisen with Unibet is based on French law regulating against advertisements for gambling. VeloNews added, "Oddly enough, the French law in question is a 19th century regulation that bans the promotion of gambling, including "lotteries," which could conceivably ban participation by two long-time pro teams, Française des Jeux and Predictor-Lotto."
So what does Philippe Gilbert care about Unibet.com now that he can ride. I would guess not much. Obviously, Unibet's management was not at all pleased with the outcome, arguing again that after paying the necessary funds to acquire a pro tour license they are still not guaranteed the full schedule of races. Speaking with the Dutch news agency ANP, Jacques Hanegraaff, the team's manager responded, "This is unacceptable. We are now going to start judicial proceedings against the organizers and the UCI to make the most of our rights."
Maybe Astana and Unibet should have saved a little money to pay the grand tour organizers. It might have gotten them a little further toward a secure season.
In an emergency meeting called by the riders, the organisers of the three grand tours and the UCI met to hammer out a tentative agreement to get through this season. The ASO, RCS, and Unipublic have agreed to allow all but Unibet and Astana into their races for the year. Meanwhile, it has been agreed that these two recent additions to the pro tour will be looked upon "favorably" when considering wild card slots.
So after all the name calling and posturing, we basically end up in the same place we started. Philippe Gilbert from Française des Jeux, spoke with Vers l'Avenir before this resolution was made. "They are not even concerned to know the thoughts of the cyclists; no one has asked us and our voice is lost." The clever irony over this statement is that the issue that has arisen with Unibet is based on French law regulating against advertisements for gambling. VeloNews added, "Oddly enough, the French law in question is a 19th century regulation that bans the promotion of gambling, including "lotteries," which could conceivably ban participation by two long-time pro teams, Française des Jeux and Predictor-Lotto."
So what does Philippe Gilbert care about Unibet.com now that he can ride. I would guess not much. Obviously, Unibet's management was not at all pleased with the outcome, arguing again that after paying the necessary funds to acquire a pro tour license they are still not guaranteed the full schedule of races. Speaking with the Dutch news agency ANP, Jacques Hanegraaff, the team's manager responded, "This is unacceptable. We are now going to start judicial proceedings against the organizers and the UCI to make the most of our rights."
Maybe Astana and Unibet should have saved a little money to pay the grand tour organizers. It might have gotten them a little further toward a secure season.
Labels: ASO, Astana, Française des Jeux, Jacques Hanegraaff, Philippe Gilbert, Predictor-Lotto, RCS, UCI, Unibet.com, Unipublic
posted by Roger Haskins at 12:07 PM
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