FFC removed from Worlds bid

A day after the UCI decided to suspend the French Cycling Federation (FFC) for its role in hosting the Paris-Nice and Tour de France outside the auspices of the UCI, its Management Committee has removed the FFC's applications to host the 2012 Track World Championships and the 2012 Cyclo-cross World Championships from consideration.

The move is the latest shot in the war which has brewed between the UCI and the Grand Tour organisers since the inception of the ProTour in 2004. While the French Federation will not be punished by having riders excluded from the Olympic Games or the World Championships, it has suffered the exclusion of its representatives from any UCI committee or commission - something the FFC intends to fight with the backing of the French government.

The committee also responded to what it called 'lies' in the FFC's response to the suspension. The FFC alleged the suspension was a threat intended to silence its criticism of the UCI's planned calendar. The committee's statement responded firmly, stating, "the stakeholders in the cycling family may express themselves, but this does not give them the right to break the UCI rules."

The statement continued, reiterating is stance that it must defend its own rules. "The strength of the FFC's reaction does not alter the seriousness of its infractions."

The UCI also warned that the FFC's sanction "could be compounded if the FFC continues to flout the UCI Statutes and Rules," by allowing the Tour de France to be held under its organization.