Hondo: UCI ruling "is all politics"

According to the UCI, Danilo Hondo can start racing again Saturday, but no ProTour or Pro Continental team is allowed to sign him, because of the ProTour Code of Ethics. "The Code is a question of interpretation," Hondo told the dpa press agency last night. "The UCI can't force teams to not let me start. It's all a matter of politics, just as it has been from the beginning."

"The UCI's statement hasn't changed the situation at all - the legal status is, as before, totally unclear," Gerolsteiner's Mathias Weiland told Cyclingnews.

In addition, he said, under the Swiss court ruling he is able to start racing immediately and not as of April 1, as the UCI claimed. Hondo is expected to issue a more complete statement later today or tomorrow.

Courtesy of Susan Westemeyer