One day after the Katusha team was given the reasoned decision behind the UCI Licence Commission’s refusal to give it WorldTour licence registration, neither the squad nor the UCI have released the precise details involved.
However according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the reason for the refusal is not to do with the financial aspect, as Katusha has claimed, but rather because of ethical concerns. The Italian newspaper states that the letter sent to Katusha yesterday lists a number of ethical issues which have cropped up in recent years.
The team has seen EPO positives for Antonio Colom, Christian Pfannberger and Denis Galimzyanov, a positive test for Alexandr Kolobnev which was eventually overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, allegations that Kolobnev sold the 2010 Liège-Bastogne-Liège to Alexander Vinokourov and also claims that Denis Menchov, Mikhail Ignatiev, Vladimir Gusev and Kolobnev have links to Michele Ferrari and are part of the Padua investigation.
In addition, it is suggested that its new manager Viatcheslav Ekimov is also part of the Licence Commission’s concern. He was a longtime team-mate of Lance Armstrong on the US Postal Service and Discovery Channel team, and has taken over the running of the team prior to the 2013 season.
Further clarification of the reasons for the decision is likely to emerge over time. Katusha yesterday reaffirmed its intention to fight the case and has lodged an action with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.