Having originally been asked to appear before the license commission to get their ProTeam license, Lotto Belisol has now been granted the desired status without showing up before the commission. With only two small administrative errors causing the delay, the team has sent in the necessary papers and will be part of the top division in 2014.
When the UCI announced the first ProTeam licenses for the 2014 season, two teams with an existing license failed to receive the coveted status as one of cycling's top teams. Lotto Belisol and Argos-Shimano were both asked to appear before the license commission to make sure that they fulfilled the administrative, financial and ethical criteria to be awarded the license.
While Argos-Shimano claimed that their delay was due to its impending change of main sponsorship, Lotto Belisol stated that only two small administrative errors had prevented them from being awarded their license. The team claimed it to be a formality for them to continue at the highest level.
It appears that the license commission has agreed with that interpretation as the Belgian team has now received its license. By sending in the necessary papers, they don't need to appear before the commission as was originally planned.
"As was expected the UCI has awarded Lotto Belisol a license for the WorldTour 2014," the team wrote in a statement. "Previously we reported that only two administrative formalities stood in the way of this ratification. The team handed over these documents to the UCI, won’t have to appear before the license commission and gets its license immediately."
Ag2r-La Mondiale, Belkin Pro Cycling Team, BMC Racing Team, Cannondale, FDJ.fr, Garmin-Sharp, Omega Pharma-Quick Step Racing Team, Team Katusha and Team Saxo Bank have all been awarded a license while Pro Team Astana, Lampre-Merida, Movistar Team, Orica GreenEdge, Team Sky, Argos-Shimano Team Europcar, and Trek Factory Racing will all have to appear before the commission.
The UCI will communicate a first series of decisions of the licence commission after November 25. The final decisions of the licence commission will be communicated on December 10.
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