According to Reuters, Tour de France organisers A.S.O. (Amaury Sport Organisation) have sent a letter to the cycling governing body the UCI threatening to withdraw their races from the UCI calendar.
Reuters say that that the letter says that A.S.O. will withdraw their races which include the Tour De France, Tour De Yorkshire, Critérium du Dauphiné, Paris-Nice, Paris-Roubaix, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège from the 2016 UCI World Tour caldena if major reforms including those to stop the clashing of races are not implemented.
It is understood that races such as the Tour De France will go ahead but it would stop World Tour teams getting automatic qualification for any race under the auspices of A.S.O.The calendar reform was voted in this week by the Professional Cycling Council (PCC) but did not get the UCI management committee's validation.
The Professional Cycling Council have already voted through the chances but the UCI management committee are still to.
The UCI is confident the reform will succeed and said to Reuters in a statement: "We are hopeful of finalizing soon our discussions with all stakeholders whether race organisers, teams, riders, around a project that will restore the credibility in our sport, promote the sport in both existing and new markets, make the cycling season understood and attractive to fans and recognizes the UCI World Tour as part of a larger and interdependent system. "
Source: DSG
