According to a draft press release obtained by USA TODAY, ASO will assist AEG with the international distribution of television and media rights for the Amgen Tour of California.
ASO will also, produce and distribute a portfolio of programming formats including live coverage of the race. Additionally, AEG will assist ASO with the sale of specific sponsorship packages designed for partners looking to communicate in the US.
The partnership links the biggest and most prestigious cycling race in the world with the largest cycling race in the US and places AEG and the Tour of California firmly on the side of ASO in the ongoing battle for control of professional cycling with the Union Cycliste International, the international cycling federation and organiser of the top-level ProTour.
ASO has refused to let UCI's ProTour determine which teams will participate in ASO races, which also includes the Paris-Roubaix classic, considered the biggest one-day race. The ASO has also encouraged the grand tours of Italy and Spain to renounce UCI ProTour control. In return, the UCI says it will impose sanctions against riders who participate in ASO races.
The Tour of California has been a UCI race since it was launched in 2006, but it was not included in a recent expansion of the ProTour that brought Australian and Russian events to that level.
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