2007 UCI Pro Tour
The 2007 UCI ProTour is the third year of the UCI ProTour system. Following a dispute and power struggle between the UCI and the organisers of the Grand Tours, ASO, RCS and Unipublic, a number of events were run as ProTour events, although without ProTour licences. This meant the races counted towards the ProTour standings, although the organisers were not obliged to invite all 20 UCI ProTeams, notably not inviting Unibet.com.
After numerous doping scandals in previous years, culminating with Floyd Landis' doping scandal in the 2006 Tour de France, the Phonak team was disbanded when the new title sponsor, iShares, decided to cease sponsoring and pull out of cycling. As of December, 2006, the ProTour license abandoned by Phonak has been granted to the Unibet.com, and the Active Bay group of Manolo Saiz has lost its license, which was given to the Astana. The links between the ProTour and the organisers of the three Grand Tours (ASO, RCS MediaGroup and Unipublic) remain strained.
The 2007 Paris–Nice race was the focus of a dispute between (ASO) and the UCI. ASO have requested that the 2007 edition be downgraded from ProTour status to NE (national calendar status), therefore lacking UCI world-ranking points and threatening the participation of the ProTeams. This was resolved to an extent though and Paris–Nice took place as the first ProTour race of the season, although without Unibet.com.
Read more about 2007 UCI Pro Tour: 2007 ProTour Races, Teams, Individual Standings, Team Standings, Nation Standings, 2007 ProTour Points System
Famous quotes containing the words pro and/or tour:
“It is sweet and honourable to die for one’s country.
[Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.]”
—Horace [Quintus Horatius Flaccus] (65–8 B.C.)
“Do you know I believe that [William Jennings] Bryan will force his nomination on the Democrats again. I believe he will either do this by advocating Prohibition, or else he will run on a Prohibition platform independent of the Democrats. But you will see that the year before the election he will organize a mammoth lecture tour and will make Prohibition the leading note of every address.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)