Sweet dreams from Paris

Just as we're settling in for the evening, Agence France Press reports (this version is from L'Equipe) that Christian Prudhomme has helpfully poured gasoline on an old fire.

Prudhomme breaks with the ICU

The fire's still smoldering between the Tour de France and the International Cycling Union. The point of no return may have been reached Friday by Christian Prudhomme, who declared to the German newspaper, the Süddeutsche Zeitung, in a story appearing Saturday, that he did not want to work with the international federation any longer. "There is an international cycling organization, but with all due respect, it's worthless," fired off the director of the Tour de France. "How can one continue to believe in the ICU? It didn't, for example, apply its own rule 220, which says that a rider who has missed a doping test before one of the big Tours is excluded from it. The ICU never wanted this Tour to be clean. But next year, there will be a potentially clean Tour."

To do this, Christian Prudhomme stated that he wanted to change partners for coming Tours. "Next year we are going to work hand-in-hand with the World Antidoping Agency and the French Agency for the Fight Against Doping." Moreover, and contrary to Pat McQuaid, president of the ICU, the Tour de France director said he was in favor of the doping summit proposed by the president of WADA, Dick Pound. "Mr. Pound, it can be whenever and wherever you want. But it will be better without the ICU."