Thursday the International Cycling Union (UCI) released a list of all the ProTour teams that have met all requirements for their 2010 license. Surprisingly, five teams did not make the list. Caisse d’Epargne, Eusktaltel-Euskadi, Saxo Bank, Team Sky, and two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador’s Astana team were all present. The teams were given until November 20th to submit the required information that includes a budget, contracts for sponsorship, a bank guarantee, and signed contracts from at least 12 riders.
The UCI said that the UCI ProTour Council will make a final decision on UCI ProTeam registrations for the 2010 season after the official deadline of 20 November.
Any team whose application is rejected will have its file passed on to the Licence Commission. In the event that the application is subsequently rejected by the Licence Commission the team’s UCI ProTeam licence is automatically withdrawn.
Article 2.15.139 in the UCI rulebook includes provisions that enable a rider to “terminate the present contract, without notice nor liability for damages,” in the presence of certain conditions or circumstances.
The list includes the loss of ProTour status, a team’s bankruptcy, and sub-section 8, which could provide a way for Contador to dissolve his contract.
From the Rulebook:
“If, on 20 October of the year preceding a year of registration covered by the present contract, the UCI ProTeam has not submitted a registration file containing the essential documents listed in (Article) 2.15.069b.”
This oversight, likely caused from the turmoil in team management, could open the door for Contador to join Caisse d’Epargne, Quick Step, or the Garmin-Slipstream team.