UCI reacts to Belgian doping stories

At a meeting of the UCI Management Committee in Courtrai, Belgium, the organisation declined to take any action based on the recent stories in the Belgian press about alleged organised doping at Quick Step and the confession by Johan Museeuw. A statement released by the UCI said "Lacking any proof or evidence, the Management Committee will not express for the moment any opinion, however it will follow the case closely."

The statement went on to express the UCI's support of it's president, Pat McQuaid, over the recent spat between the UCI and the Grand Tour organisers, saying "in troubled times for cycling, [he] strongly reaffirmed the obligation for all to respect participation rules to UCI ProTour calendar events, which makes it impossible to accept the unfolding of a competition beyond these rules."

In a response to the legal decision in favor of the LPR and Fuerteventura Canarias teams, who fought exclusion from the Professional Continental ranks, the statement confirmed that the teams will be registered as Professional Continental teams, but only "provisionally".

The UCI also announced the host cities of future championship events, including the 2009 Mountain Bike worlds in Canberra, Australia. Cyclingnews will have a full feature about this announcement in coming days.

The Danish city of Copenhagen was granted three championships, including the the 2008 BMX world championship,the 2010 indoor cycling worlds and the 2011 world road championship. Denmark last hosted the world road championship in 1956.