Bjarne Riis and Team Saxo Bank ready to make strong plans for the 2012 season
Team Saxo Bank was under massive stress since the CAS decision to ban its star rider Alberto Contador from professional cycling.
The team has finally taken a sigh of relief after the UCI Licence Commission announced that it has no objections with the team’s World Tour status.
Bjarne Riis told Ekstra Bladet, “Of course it means something in relation to Alberto and the team. It means everything to us all that we have a license”.
Contador is now banned from professional cycling after CAS handed him a two-year ban from professional cycling.
The jury was convinced that the cyclist used clenbuterol to enhance his performance at the Tour de France 2010.
He can only return to professional cycling not sooner than August 2012.
Alberto will miss most of the major cycling events of the season including the Tour de France, Giro d’ Italia and the 2012 Olympic Games.
The only major race Contador is eligible to ride in the coming season is the Vuelta a Espana.
The Spaniard helped the team with a number of victories in the past season and almost 70% of the total points earned by the team came through Contador.
CAS not only banned the cyclist from riding at the top level of sport but also disqualified him from all his victories since the Tour de France 2010.
His exclusion from the sport made it impossible for Team Saxo Bank to continue enjoying its World Tour licence in the 2012 season.
The whole Danish squad was under a great deal of stress since the past two months, after UCI Licence Commission re-evaluated its World Tour licence.
The recent announcement by UCI has made things considerably easier for Bjarne Riis and the whole UCI squad.
“Now we have peace. But we would like to deliver results. We know we are not at the top of the list, but we also know we have been unlucky,” Riis briefed.
“We know the tasks that face us at both the sporting and business plans. It's easier now, now we can start to do something”.
It will be interesting to see, if Team Saxo Bank can continue its 2011 winning momentum in the coming races of the season.
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