No ProTour ceremony in Nice

UCI ProTour manager Alain Rumpf was present in Nice for the end of the first supposed-to-be ProTour race of the year. He had a leader's jersey in his back pack for Alberto Contador, but the winner was taken by ASO officials to the anti-doping control and to the press conference without any mention to the ProTour.

"It's not an important issue to have a specific ceremony for the ProTour," Rumpf explained. "At the end of the race ceremony, it would be too late for the TV anyway. The most important is to have the jersey worn by the leader in Pro Tour races and we have agreed on that."

An official picture of Contador with the UCI ProTour jersey was supposed to be taken after the press conference, but the Spaniard had to rush for his plane and couldn't do it. Taking as references the first two years of the ProTour, Rumpf reckons a rider like Contador who goes well in short stage races and hilly classics has the characteristics for contesting the overall win of the series this year.