The crisis in cycling continues to swell

Paris-Nice shows usually runners promised a beautiful season. This year, the "race to the sun" highlights the incredible failures in the world of cycling. Not only Alberto Contador, title holder and last winner of the Tour de France, will not be present at the two events, but also a long-term feud between the organizer ASO and the International Cycling Union eliminated the hopes of a season without controversy. Contador, which has never been tested positive for a banned product, may not participate in the Paris-Nice and Tour since Amaury Sports Organisation has banned his team for violations dating from before the arrival of the Spanish in the training during the winter. "Of course I am not pleased and I do not agree with the decision," said the Associated Press manager of Astana, Johan Bruyneel. "But we will get back under way. We will set new targets." ASO has also launched a new challenge to the International Cycling Union decided to hold Paris-Nice outside the rules of the UCI, in joining the french national calendar. "Regarding the UCI, it is an illegal race," said the PA to the president of the UCI, Pat McQuaid. "The UCI could ultimately suspend riders. This is not what we want to do. Runners must not be victims of a bad decision by an organiser and his federation." After a 2007 Tour de France exhausting marked by doping incidents, tensions between the UCI and ASO have flared up and cast a new shadow over cycling about a week before the start of Paris-Nice, which begins on 9 March. "Everybody always speaks of the poor image of cycling with doping scandals, and it's true," said Bruyneel, the former mentor of Lance Armstrong. "But the other image that we refer to the outside world is that cycling is unable to solve its problems. I do not know what is worse." In response to the decision of ASO, as its detractors accuse of wanting to take over the leadership of cycling, UCI asked the 20 teams to boycott the event, which will offer no point to the classification of the UCI ProTour. "It is the weakness of our sport, at any level there is the unity," said Bruyneel. "It's complete anarchy." The appeal of the UCI has fallen on deaf ears, particularly as a result of too much pressure from sponsors in a sport lacking in income and in danger of losing its permanent sources of supply because of doping scandals repetition. "In this conflict, riders have no other choice but to obey orders," said Daniel AP Malbranque, the secretary general of the association of professional cyclists (CPA). "It is not a corporation that can afford to strike." After the victory of Contador in the 2007 Tour and withdrawal from the world of cycling Discovery Channel, and Spanish Bruyneel joined Astana, whose star rider Alexandre Vinokourov has been excluded from the Tour last year for blood doping. The previous year, the Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme Astana were excluded because some of its riders were linked to the Operation Puerto. Because of the escalating conflict between the UCI and ASO, it is unlikely that a truce be announced a few days before the start of Paris-Nice. "The one after the other major races in cycling falling into the hands of a commercial organisation," said McQuaid about ASO, which also plans to purchase the Tour of Spain. McQuaid warned in a letter teams who intend to compete in Paris-Nice. "By signing the contract, you rejoindriez a circuit entirely controlled by private ASO for the benefit of its commercial interests," said McQuaid