Tour Méditéranéen in peril

The early European season could be lacking one of its top races, as the Tour Méditéranéen has reportedly been cancelled. According to the French Federation, the race is off, and the UCI has not included the four-stage event on its European Tour calendar, but Cyclingnews is still awaiting confirmation from the race organiser.

The Tour Méditéranéen and its historical finish atop Mont Faron has been a prime early season target for many of the sport's top teams, and was won last year by David Moncoutie (Cofidis).

According to Cyclism'Actu, the race organisers, who announced the route on November 8 with no indication of uncertainty about the race's future, were informed in mid-November that they must reimburse the Ligue Nationale de Cyclisme €23,000 for a stage in 2010 which was shortened, under threat that the race would not be on the UCI calendar.

The race had been hit by financial problems in the past, but up until November 24, the organisers were indicating that paying the fee would be no problem and expected the event to go ahead as scheduled, from February 9-12, and be added to the UCI calendar.

However, the French Cycling Federation's web site (FFC) posted today a one-line item stating that the race has been cancelled due to the conditions for inclusion on the race calendar not being met.

Stay tuned to Cyclingnews for the full story.