CANCELLARA CRITICISES ASO AND UCI

• Saturday, 8 March 2008
• By Stephen Farrand
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After winning the Eroica race on Saturday, Fabian Cancellara (CSC) spoke out about the dispute between the UCI and Paris-Nice organisers ASO.

Never one to bite his tongue, Cancellara attacked both parties.

“I just want to ride my bike, I want to enjoy my passion for cycling and want to give to my best for this sport. The teams want us to race and the public want to see us race,” he said.

“As far as I can see they (ASO and UCI) are working against cycling and want to ruin cycling. In a few day or a few weeks cycling will be ruined if they carry on. The UCI and ASO are only thinking about their own interests. They’re not worried about us. They’re not interested in young cyclists or the beauty of this sport.”

“We’ve had problems of doping and they said they were working against the problems but this is worse than doping. They’re creating a lot of damage.”

Cancellara called on ASO and UCI to find a solution to the dispute and questioned if Pat McQuaid should remain at the head of the UCI.

“The solution would be to make a peace agreement. It’s not up to us to find the solution. If the UCI can’t find a solution, I think the UCI has to go.”

“If a person works for a major company and doesn’t know how to run things, I think they’re in the wrong place. The boss of a sport has to work for the good of the sport, not against it. They shouldn’t say that a rider has to be banned for six months. We haven’t done anything wrong and just want to race.”

“I don’t know if Pat McQuaid has to resign but how long has been in power, a year or two? He hasn’t done much...”