ASO announced that this years Tour de France will be organised, based on the French law, under the control of the French Cycling Federation (FFC) from the 5th to the 27th of July. Its president, Jean Pitallier, present during the press conference, had however initiated a final settlement attempt with the UCI in order to register the Tour on the international calendar. This attempt remained vain and placed the Tour de France in a situation of exception.

In a press release ASO said: "Like during the last edition of Paris-Nice, the FFC will therefore be guarantor of the respect of rules and send race officials authorized to register and approve the results and responsible during the three weeks of the competition, and of the good sporting unfolding of the event."

The  A.S.O. press release continued with: "As has announced its President, Pierre Bordry, the anti-doping controls will be organised by the French Anti Doping Agency. The AFLD will deal with and manage the controls before and during the event, like it has done so during the last Paris-Nice."

A.S. O. concluded: "The 2008 Tour de France registers itself in a totally legal frame and A.S.O., based on the success of the last Paris-Nice, wishes to insure the riders, teams, partners and fans of the quality of the organisation that will be set up this year."

The International Cycling Union (UCI) reacted with a statement on Tueday evening, saying that: "The International Cycling Union (UCI) has noted the request by ASO to register the Tour de France on the national calendar of the French Cycling Federation (FFC) rather than on the UCI’s international calendar."

The UCI continued saying: "The UCI considers the FFC’s support for ASO’s request deeply regrettable for sport and for the unity of the cycling family."

The UCI claims that A.S.O. did not inform the World Body before the A.S.O. press conference: "The UCI deplores the decision taken by the executives of ASO and the FFC. It considers it entirely inappropriate that ASO, with the support of the FFC, should have chosen to announce this by press conference, without having informed the International Cycling Union beforehand. This provides further evidence of ASO’s wish to disregard the UCI’s authority in international cycling, following its leaders’ refusal either to pay the fees for registering its events on the calendar, or to contribute to the biological passport, as cycling’s other major stakeholders have done."

According to the UCI: "ASO’s decision is bad for cycling. Given that the Tour de France will now take place outside the ambit of the UCI, it will not benefit from the oversight of International Commissaires, or from the involvement of the UCI Anti-doping Inspectors. Riders and teams will, by participating, expose themselves to sanctions, and ASO’s leaders alone are to blame for this."

The organisat ion led by President  Pat  McQuaid does not  underst and t he A.S.O. move: "The UCI finds it difficult to understand why ASO has refused to register the Tour de France on the 'historical' calendar within the UCI’s international calendar, given that it did so for Paris-Roubaix, which went ahead without any problems for the organisers, the teams or the riders. The UCI notes that the organisers of the Giro d’Italia registered their event on the 'historical' calendar to the general satisfaction of the cycling family."

Without naming his name the UCI seems to be unhappy that A.S.O. refuses to led Alberto Contador defend his title at this years Tour de France: "ASO has demonstrated by these actions that it intends to follow its own rules, within a structure it has itself created. This year, it will deny the winner of last year’s Tour de France the opportunity to defend his title. The UCI believes it is absolutely vital to fight against such aberrations." 

Professional cycling in Europe has already suffered a lot under the ongoing conflict between the two organisations. Earlier this year German based journalist Henry Fecherolle published an open letter in an attempt to bring the two organisations to a settlement. But unfortunaly it seems that both organisations are more heading towards a split than ever before. A split could end in a major disaster for many riders, teams and race organisers and cycling fans.

Although the Tour de France was hit by the Fuentes affair and other doping scandals in the past two years, the French race organiser has more credit in large parts of the European media. The reputation of the UCI has suffered the most, after several pr disasters. The governing body was critised in especially the German media for the way they handled the doping problem and the way the so-called UCI Pro-Tour was developed and organised.