The tours said that they would no longer negotiate with International Cycling Union (UCI), world cycling’s governing body, over the format of the UCI’s Pro Tour after the UCI turned down draft proposals prepared by a working group comprising representatives of the UCI, of each of the three Tours, the sport’s major teams and sponsors.
Patrice Clerc, director of ASO, the organiser of the Tour de France said it had not expected the document to be rejected and that the decision had sealed the split in cycling. The UCI said the tours’ rejection of the ProTour’s current format had led to a hardening of the UCI’s stance.
The Grand Tours said that the UCI Pro Tour series was “not credible on a sports level” because all the Pro Tour events - be it one-day or three-week races - are awarded the same number of points. The Grand Tour organisers’ decision to go it alone removes 11 races from the Pro Tour. The three Grand Tour organisers and the UCI have long been at loggerheads over the format of the Pro Tour but the disagreement has escalated in recent weeks.
