Christophe Moreau (Ag2r Prévoyance) won the 2007 Dauphiné (Image credit: Luc Claessen)
One day after the news that the Dauphiné Libéré stage race in Southern France might only invite ProTour teams to its 2008 edition, last year's winner and Pro Conti team Agritubel leader Christophe Moreau has criticised the decision. Race organisers said that because of growing expenses for anti-doping programmes, they did not have the budget to invite further teams than the 18 ProTour squads.
"If the problem is in fact a financial one and concerns [the fight against doping], it should be possible to find a solution. I just hope it's not a personal problem with me," Moreau told L'Equipe on Thursday. "Can you really exclude a team like Agritubel, which is very transparent about its anti-doping policy, and moreover French, from a race so important as the Dauphiné?"
Moreau meanwhile did not think so much about his own participation in the event, where he would like to defend his title, but also about his team-mates. "Personally, I don't care whether it's the 12th or 13th Dauphiné of my career," he continued. "They are not taking anything away from me. But this would certainly harm younger talents like Romain Feillu, who would miss out on a great race and will not be able to prepare the Tour de France in the best possible way."
