UCI fury as Tour put under French jurisdiction

PARIS (AFP) - The International Cycling Union (UCI) have threatened sanctions against riders and teams competing in this year’s Tour de France after organisers announced Tuesday that the race will take place under the jurisdiction of the French Cycling Federation (FFC).

The decision follows a long-running dispute between the two bodies which stems from whether race organisers including ASO (Amaury Sport Organisation), who organise the Tour de France, or the sport’s governing body, the UCI, have the final say over who rides in their races.

As with the Paris-Nice race earlier this year, the 2008 Tour will be organised under the authority of the FFC with the country’s anti-doping agency AFLD in charge of doping controls.

“We have asked the FFC that the Tour be organised under their authority. The AFLD will therefore be in charge of the doping tests before and during the race,” Tour de France race director Christian Prudhomme said.

The UCI, meanwhile, slammed the move as “a bad decision for cycling” and judged it as “extremely regrettable for the sport and the unity of the cycling family”.

“It is not correct that ASO leaders, backed by the FFC, preferred to make the announcement during a press conference before warning the international federation beforehand,” the UCI said in a statement.

“It constitutes additional evidence of the ASO’s wish to no longer take into account the authority of the UCI concerning international cycling.”

And they warned that riders and teams could face sanctions for competing in a race being run outside the UCI authority.

“Riders and teams by competing will expose themselves to sanctions through the fault of ASO leaders,” the UCI said.

So, UCI … are you going to ban 200 professional cyclists from racing in events that ARE on the UCI calendar, thus depriving those races of the very cyclists that make them a success? Do you not realize that ASO actually has the power here?

If the UCI sanctions cyclists, more races will seek sanctioning from national federations, rather than from the UCI; because the races want riders.

The UCI is becoming increasingly irrelevant … and carrying through on a threat like this will do your cause more harm than good.

Unfortunately, until the riders get involved, there’s not going to be a resolution.

Here’s a scenario. All the teams that have been invited start the Tour. The UCI announces sanctions mid-way through the race.

What should the riders do? Do they strike against ASO, backing the UCI, and refusing to race? Or do they continue to ride, backing the organisers’ rights to invite whom they choose? Regardless, unless the teams act unanimously, the issue is not going to be resolved.

Multiple (and competing) governing bodies will emerge. Cycling will lose its status as an Olympic sport. More sponsorship dollars will flow away from the sport … and we can all get back to just riding our bikes.

Obama: I will be the Democratic nominee

WASHINGTON (CNN) — In what he called a “defining moment for our nation,” Sen. Barack Obama on Tuesday became the first African-American to head the ticket of a major political party.

Obama’s steady stream of superdelegate endorsements, combined with the delegates he received from Tuesday’s primaries, put him past the 2,118 threshold, CNN projects.

“Tonight we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another — a journey that will bring a new and better day to America,” he said.

“Tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States.”

Obama’s rally was at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota — the same arena which will house the 2008 Republican National Convention in September.

Speaking in New York, Sen. Hillary Clinton, congratulated Obama for his campaign, but she did not concede the race nor discuss the possibility of running as vice president.

There were reports earlier in the day that she would concede, but her campaign said she was “absolutely not” prepared to do so.

“This has been a long campaign, and I will be making no decisions tonight,” she said.

Congratulations, Senator Obama!

Senator Clinton, I do not see a VP slot in the near future for you, and I obviously do not think that you should continue to fight.

In the interest of Party unity, I am going to try to stop bashing you … but you’re not making it easy.

Senator Clinton, I think you made a serious mistake tonight. On the night that your opponent clinches the nomination, you only offered a cursory congratulations, and kept the focus of your speech on yourself, not on the issues, and not on the Party, and not how we defeat McCain in November … it smacked of sour grapes.

You came across as a poor loser, and this is not going to sit well with many Democrats, and especially not Senator Obama. As such, I would be stunned if you were offered the VP slot.

One of your supporters, like Evan Bayh or Ed Rendell, yes. But you, Senator Clinton? No.

I think that you will be of much better value to the Party and to the nation as a major power-broker in the Senate. I think that you still have an extremely important role to play in the political scene, and I, for one, will never consider this year to be your “political obituary”. Keep your focus on universal healthcare and getting it passed through the Congress; and if/when a Supreme Court seat opens up … the do everything you can to ensure that we get another progressive justice, rather than another conservative justice who will continue to erode our rights.

You’re not through … you’re just not Presidential material.

Now let’s bring the Party back together, solidly behind Senator Obama. Let’s march forward, and donkey-kick some Republican elephant butt!