Vacansoleil claims to have 2012 WorldTour licence

Vacansoleil-DCM will again be part of the WorldTour in 2012. The team said that the International Cycling Union has said it will receive its licence, despite an initial delay.

Team manager Daan Luijkx confirmed that the UCI had sent him a letter stating that the team's licence for the WorldTour “is in order” in an interview with Dutch daily De Telegraaf.

The UCI would not confirm the announcement.  Spokesman Enrico Carpani told Cyclingnews, “the next official communication will be shortly after November 20th, following the first series of decisions by the Licence Commission.”

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The Dutch team received its three-year WorldTour licence last year, although the UCI reviews each team's status in cycling's top flight annually. It was one of two teams this season whose licence was not automatically renewed - it had to meet with the commission "in accordance with article 2.15.071 of the regulations", which stipulates the procedures for teams which were unable to be registered by the UCI.

The other team was RadioShack, whose spokesman Philippe Maertens told Cyclingnews Saturday afternoon that the team had not yet heard anything.

The team claimed to have met all administrative, financial and sporting requirements and according to De Telegraaf, the UCI “had ethical questions about the role of  controversial Riccardo Ricco in the first months of the year with the team.” Ultimately the team did not have to meet with the commission “and therefore the sponsors and riders were held in suspense for ten days for nothing.”

The team fired Ricco in February after he was released from hospital, where he was treated for kidney failure after allegedly giving himself a botched blood transfusion.