http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/feb08/feb28news
Speaking prior to the announcement of the AIGCP that the various teams
would indeed go ahead and ride Paris-Nice, UCI President Pat McQuaid
stated that these teams themselves could, if acting in a united
fashion, set themselves up as major players.
"These organisers, and ASO in particular, have power because they have
money and they have an event that the teams want to ride," he told
Cyclingnews on Wednesday afternoon. "So that is power. The UCI doesn't
have power as such - we have authority and we regulate, but we don't
have power over the teams.
"In actual fact, the people with all of the power are the teams
themselves, because they could turn around to the organisers and say
that unless they put their race on the UCI calendar, they will not be
riding it. Even if 10 or 12 teams decided to do that, they could force
things."
Ultimately the teams decided to act otherwise. The move is predicable
as a short-term one, but in siding with ASO it creates an uneasy
situation in the sport. The race and others later in the year will be
organised outside the aegis of the UCI, with the governing body have
no say over the rules and regulations, nor which teams can take part.
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Which is a good thing. That is how all real pro sports (NFL, NBA etc.)
operate. FIBA doesn't regulate the players or the rules for the NBA
and that isn't a crippling problem for the pro league and it doesn't
affect the Olympic eligibility of the players.