AIGCP back down after UCI threatens to remove race officials
Frank Schleck (Leopard Trek) wearing his illegal radio at the start of the Trofeo Palma de Mallorca (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad looks certain to go ahead without any form of official protest from the AIGCP, teams and riders, after the AIGCP decided to back down on racing with race radios.
There had been a mounting stand-off between the teams and the UCI in recent days after speculation first emerged that there could be repeats of the scenes from the Challenge Mallorca where the start was delayed, the UCI commissaries quit the race and the riders used race radios. Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervelo) won the race but the results were later made void.
The decision not to protest seems to have arisen after the UCI threatened to remove race commissaries from the event. According to the UCI this would have voided insurance policies and therefore the race could have been cancelled.
The UCI began the roll out of the race radio ban last year in 1.2 and 2.2 level races (including all U23 races and women's stage races), and has been extended to cover all Continental races ranked 1.HC/2.HC and below in 2011. The ban will include the World Calendar races in 2012.
In a statement issued to the media, the AIGCP said: “Upon receiving information that the UCI threatened to remove race commissaries from Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, if riders were to wear radios, the race organizer could not guarantee the race could go forward, as insurance policies required commissaries to be present.”
“The AIGCP have decided, by a majority, that to endanger a long standing race would not be in the best interest of the sport, its fans, and its sponsors.”
The AIGCP will next gather on March 4, in Paris, where it is hoped that a level of mediation between them and the UCI can begin. Cyclingnews understands that UCI could be open to such a resolution of the dispute after confirming to one team manager that the race radio situation could be reviewed after a set time. However, no time period before a review was specified.
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
