Caisse d'Epargne unhappy about missing ceremony

By Shane Stokes in Madrid

The ongoing spat between the organisers of the Grand Tours and the UCI meant that Alejandro Valverde was not presented with his jersey as leader of the ProTour at the Vuelta finish in Madrid, contrary to normal procedures. His team voiced its displeasure with this on Sunday evening, sending around a strong press release.

"Because of the quarrels between the organizers of the Grand Tours and the UCI ProTour, the Spanish public was prevented from seeing the awards ceremony where the jersey of leader of the UCI ProTour was handed over to the rider Alejandro Valverde, the leader of that classification," stated the release.

"We regret the incoherence that the organizers commit by accepting the rules of participation of the ProTour obliging the rider to comply with all the requirements that his condition of leader imposes (namely the controls and the obligation to wear the white jersey of leader) but later, at the end of the race, once he consolidated his position, not to allow the UCI ProTour on the official podium to hand over the leader’s jersey that honours him.