Bjarne Riis has attracted a new sponsor to his squad.
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Calls UCI position “ridiculous”
Bjarne Riis has repeated his intention of taking the International Cycling Union (UCI) to court if it does not allow Alberto Contador to earn points for his team for two years. The Saxo Bank-Tinkoff team owner called the situation “ridiculous”.
Contador is serving a two-year doping-related ban, and will return to riding for the team early next month. Under UCI rules, points earned by such riders will not count for a team for two years after the rider returns.
Saxo Bank-Tinkoff is in desperate need of points to retain its WorldTour licence in the coming year. It is currently at the bottom of the standings, with only 44 points as compared to Sky Team, who lead the list with 803. He also faces the option of signing additional riders with points, which would be made be possible by the recent inclusion of Tinkoff Bank as a name co-sponsor.
The UCI has reiterated that any points Contador earns will not count for the team, and if they continue to uphold that position, “I will go to the sports tribunal CAS. This is ridiculous,” Riis told De Telegraaf.
“The UCI would like to do things in their own interest. It would be better if they did more good things for cycling, instead of fighting with the teams over various things.”
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