The Unibet.com cycling team has lodged an official complaint in French court against Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), the organizing body of the Tour de France, seeking to gain a last-minute spot in this year’s race.
The team has been excluded from a number of major races this year including the Vuelta a España and Giro d’Italia due to laws banning advertising from non-domestic gambling firms.
Unibet hopes to follow the lead of other teams, such as Boule d’Or, who switched their jersey sponsor to Sunair in order to continue to ride in cycling’s premier event.
"We want to be granted a start in the Tour de France, not with Unibet.com but with Canyon.com, the team's sponsor with which we are allowed to start races in France," Unibet General Manager Koen Terryn told SportWereld.
Terryn hopes that the appeal will convince the organizing bodies of Europe’s major cycling races to stop turning away new sponsorship opportunities such as those from gambling firms. If this is the case, a decision against ASO could lead the way in allowing Unibet riders to compete not only in the Grand Tours under the moniker of their sponsor, but in their respective national championships as well.