McQuaid: Riders are the victims

UCI president Pat McQuaid clarified his stance on sanctions against riders who are participating in Paris-Nice while visiting Spain to discuss the re-opening of Operación Puerto this week. He gave one of the first interviews since the beginning of the non-UCI sanctioned edition of the race to the Spanish news agency EFE, where he called the riders "the victims" of the battle between Paris-Nice and Tour de France organiser, the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO).

McQuaid, who prior to Paris-Nice had sent letters and made statements threatening riders with fines and suspensions if they participated in the event outside the UCI's rules backed off from that firm stance a bit this week. "I said what I had to say. The race is taking place outside of the rules of the UCI," he said. "When it finishes we will sit down and look at all the circumstances and consider the data that we have. The riders have asked for a meeting. They are victims and have been forced to take a stand, they are employees of teams that cannot be denied participation because it is their livelihood. The UCI will take this into account in determining sanctions."