Petacchi disagrees with teams

By Jean-François Quénet in Loulé

Some teams might be willing to follow the UCI orders to not participate to Paris-Nice but they will face their riders' rebellion, according to Alessandro Petacchi, whose Milram team has been the first to speak out in favour of the boycott.

"It's a big problem for the teams," the Italian said after winning stage three in the Tour of Algarve. "This is a very delicate moment of the cycling season. Taking part in Paris-Nice or Tirreno-Adriatico is crucial for a rider who has ambitions in the Spring classics. Without doing one of the two, it's very difficult to be competitive in the Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix. And the teams want their riders to be competitive. It's the story of a dog who bites his own tail. For once the riders aren't guilty of anything; it's unfair to prevent us from racing."