UCI or ASO?

Smilf said:

I wasn't a big fan of how UCI ran things, but I can't say I'm liking ASO too much right now. It really seems like they are going out of there way to slam cycling into a small dark corner right now. Right when the sport is already in a mess from all the top guys having some kind of doping related story recently. They pick NOW to start a battle that could screw up another tdf, and alot of the season.

But also a baby could of saw this coming, why Mcquaid didn't is beyond me.

Suppose there won't be much actual cycling to keep up with this year. Just alot of doping news and watching the Pro Tour fall apart.

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This battle is absolute ********. an ego trip between two organisations who wont give an inch, I would be good for a change if they listened to the real people in cycling - the teams and the fans.

I think that there will be plenty of riding to watch this year. The sponsors will want to see their advertising displayed at the big races, and the riders will want to ride them.

I doubt that you will see teams/riders deserting a Milano San Remo or RVV. Or any of the three GTs either.

I simply do not see how UCI can win. The teams will reach an accomodation with the organisers [IMHO, of course].

The UCI brought this on. The ProTour is a radical departure from the way cycling has been run in the past. Any moron could see that problems were going to crop up and change should be done slowly, probably over the course of ten or more years, and many compromises would need to be made with the organizers, especially in the beginning before the ProTour had time to prove itself. Instead the UCI has gone as fast as possible and has been absolutely inflexible. Licensing twenty teams and eliminating wildcard entries was a line in the sand for the organizers, the UCI knew it, and went ahead anyway.

The UCI has never negotiated in good faith. The GT organizers went along with the ProTour during the first year because the UCI said they would make changes to address issues the GTs had with the format, but at the end of the first season McQuaid announced that the rules in effect could not be changed until the current contracts with the teams ran out in three years. The UCI reneged on the deal.

The UCI has never negotiated in good faith.

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Bro.. do you think they ever will?

Tim Lamkin said:

Bro.. do you think they ever will?

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I think, or maybe hope, that the current struggle will end with some sort of grand bargain between all parties involved. The UCI needs to be put in its place and perhaps McQuaid and Verbruggen need to go.

If this thing goes too far we could lose the entire season, if there are no negations.
It really is closer then many believe to that.

Tim Lamkin said:

If this thing goes too far we could lose the entire season, if there are no negations.
It really is closer then many believe to that.

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This could be just what cycling needs. These two mega-ego organizations might need the real powers (the sponsors and their money) to bang their heads together to get them to shut up and let the cyclists ride.
When the sponsors lose enough in advertising, they'll act. Expect explosions soon with Paris-Nice right around the corner.

Chance3290 said:

This could be just what cycling needs. These two mega-ego organizations might need the real powers (the sponsors and their money) to bang their heads together to get them to shut up and let the cyclists ride.
When the sponsors lose enough in advertising, they'll act. Expect explosions soon with Paris-Nice right around the corner.

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Doesn't it seem like the ASO holds all the cards? I mean, aside from recognition from the Olympic Committee as the governing body of cycling, what else does the UCI have?

helmutRoole2 said:

Doesn't it seem like the ASO holds all the cards? I mean, aside from recognition from the Olympic Committee as the governing body of cycling, what else does the UCI have?

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Another egomaniac running the organization. I say shove the two of them on bikes. The first to the top of Alpe d'Huez wins.

what else does the UCI have?

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For now it seems as though they have the biggest hammer in the room

Tim Lamkin said:

For now it seems as though they have the biggest hammer in the room

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On March 11th we'll see where the hammer falls.

Looks like it, if it stalls ...the next two months of races are gone.

ASO is showing their short-term thinking. They are destroying some investment which is welcomed after the loss of some companies in 2006. They are increasing insecurity because any team could be at the place of Unibet. I am not sure whether companies will renew their sponsorship after such kind of actions. Of course, UCI isn't perfect but international races have to be run under international rules. Will there be any teams or TV covarage to TDF after a few years?

Pro tour system gives stability to teams and sponsors and their investments. One more advantage is that a rider which is caught cannot ride in Pro Tour team for 4 years. If there is 1 to 2 wildcards for Grand Tours then there is a lesser possibility that Tyler Hamilton type riders will be back to Giro after two years.

Question smarter people: What will happen if someone is caught during the national race? Will he be banned to race only in the respective country or will he face exclusion from all of the races?

They are both acting like spoiled children and should be seriously spanked. Unfortunately, no one has a hand big enough to spank them.

I agree some form of international governing body is required. But the UCI has only themselves to blame for backing the ASO into a corner. Ultimately, the UCI has very little power over the ASO. In the face of all the difficulty teams have been experiencing with trying to land and keep sponsors, they can not afford to boycot races, even with the UCI threatening sanctions.

The UCI should not have forced the increase in pro tour teams from 18 to 20 if they were going to require races to invite all the teams.

If we're really lucky, the UCI will eat a little crow and relax their position. I can't see the ASO changing their position much when they have the upper hand and they know it.

Smilf said:

I wasn't a big fan of how UCI ran things, but I can't say I'm liking ASO too much right now. It really seems like they are going out of there way to slam cycling into a small dark corner right now. Right when the sport is already in a mess from all the top guys having some kind of doping related story recently. They pick NOW to start a battle that could screw up another tdf, and alot of the season.

But also a baby could of saw this coming, why Mcquaid didn't is beyond me.

Suppose there won't be much actual cycling to keep up with this year. Just alot of doping news and watching the Pro Tour fall apart.

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Cycling has been badly run for years and it may not be a bad thing if the UCI is sidelined. Pro cycling needs a professional organisation staffed by professional administrators to run it. The UCI isn't it.

The Pro Tour teams as a collective actually hold the balance of power. They have the choice of either supporting the UCI or ASO. And whoever they choose to support will have the upper hand.

Rhubarb said:

The Pro Tour teams as a collective actually hold the balance of power. They have the choice of either supporting the UCI or ASO. And whoever they choose to support will have the upper hand.

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Finally they have arrived at an uneasy agreement, hopefully it will last.