(Lausanne, 7 March 2008 – Court of Arbitration for Sport) The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rejected the request for provisional and conservatory measures filed by the International Professional Cycling Teams (IPCT), by seven professional cycling teams (Quickstep, Rabobank, Liquigas, Milram, Silence-Lotto, CSC and Suanier-Duval) as well as the Cyclistes Professionnels AssociÈsî (CPA).

A request for arbitration had been filed with the CAS on 5 March 2008 requesting that the CAS declare illegal or abusive the injunction preventing the teams from participating in the Paris-Nice race, under the threat of their own suspension, or that of their professional cyclists. The request was directed against the International Cycling Union (UCI) and the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). Moreover, the claimants sought a provisional authorisation from the CAS to participate in the 2008 Paris-Nice race without prejudice of the full examination of the legal or abusive character of the decision taken by the UCI to prevent the teams from competing in the race.

The UCI and the ASO both submitted that the CAS was not competent to decide this dispute.

The CAS decision taken today concerns only the request for provisional measures. The claimants have the possibility of continuing this arbitration procedure and requesting that the issue of jurisdiction be examined again by a panel of CAS arbitrators. However, such a procedure would take several days in order to respect the deadlines set out in the Code of Sports-related Arbitration.

The CAS Secretary General, Matthieu Reeb, has affirmed that the CAS remains at the disposal of all the parties concerned, should they require it, to find a solution to this dispute, by means of arbitration or mediation, either immediately or at another time convenient to the parties.