CAS to rule Astana-Würth case before Tour start

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) intends to rule on the case opposing Spanish ProTour team Astana-Würth and Tour de France organiser ASO before the start of the Tour de France on Saturday, July 1. After the organisers of the Grand Tour have asked the team formerly directed by Manolo Saiz not to participate in their event - on the grounds of a UCI reglement according to which "a licence holder or a team may be excluded from a race if he/it seriously blemishes the image of cycling or of the race" (UCI regulations article 2.6.036) - the team's management has asked the highest legal instance of sport to decide upon its fate.

According to UCI rules, "the exclusion shall be imposed by joint decision of the president of the commissaires panel and the organiser. In case of disagreement between the president of the commissaires panel and the organiser, the decision shall be taken by the president of the UCI ProTour council [...]. The licence holder or the team must be heard."

"I'm expecting a letter from the Astana-Wuerth team shortly," CAS general secretary Matthieu Reeb told Reuters on Tuesday morning. "We will then set up a quick procedure to rule on the case by Friday the latest."