It's best to start at the beginning.

Has it really been four days since I posted? OK then, against my better judgment, and despite not having enough time to do this properly, I'm going to take on the ProTour/UCI/ASO issue. Way, way back in the embryonic stage of solobreak.blogspot.com, one of the things I promised to cover was the lack of love for race promoters. At the time, I was referring to local races, and to the athlete-centered USCF, who pretty much do nothing for the promoters who do the real work that makes the sport possible.

Well, here we are with the same thing happening on the big stage in Europe. Make no mistake, this is nothing more than the UCI and the race teams trying to use their money and popular clout to steal away something the promoters have worked hard to achieve. The ASO et al recognized early on that this would be the fight for their very existence. If they do not win this one, in a few years they will be in the same spot that race track owners are with NASCAR, in a weak position subject to conditions of a totalitarian dictator governing body. After decades of building their races into what they are today, the foundation of the sport, they will be left begging for a spot on the calendar and increasing monetary demands. Screw that.

These guys know they own the races. If the UCI and the teams don't want to race in them, too bad. Go away. McQuack's comments completely ignore the facts. The Pro Tour is nothing more than a union of the teams formed to wrestle as much money, power, and control as possible away from those who built the sport, and now they are threatening to strike. I hope they lose. I would love it if we see all the "second tier" teams competing at the tour this year. Thanks for reading.