ASO accept AIGCP changes to Nice contract

ASO has accepted the changes to team's contracts to contest next weeks Paris-Nice, the Association Internationale Des Groupes Cyclistes Professionnels (AIGCP) has announced. Teams studied the contract after being offered contracts to contest the French race outside of the governance of the sport's world body, the UCI.

The AIGCP asked for some changes to be made to the contract on behalf of some of the participating teams, which ASO has accepted. "My role was to present the 20 team principals (three are not ProTour outfits) with two questions," AIGCP chairman Eric Boyer told AFP.

"First, do you intend to participate in the Paris-Nice? The reply was unanimously 'yes'. Then, do you accept the contractual conditions? There, it was a question of 'yes, but…'. So we asked for some amendments to the contract."

Once such change accepted by ASO is that the French Olympic conciliation body (CNOSF) will step in as arbiter in the event of disagreements.

"The decision of the teams to participate in the Paris-Nice is linked to their wish to guarantee the interests of their sponsors as well as their sporting interests and those of their riders," a AIGCP statement read.

Despite the teams organisation supporting participation in the Paris-Nice, it stressed emphasis on the need for "structured dialogue" between the involved parties to avoid a repeat of the issue. Several team directors have labeled the events of the last fortnight as a demonstration of what could occur in the Tour de France lead up.