After weeks of wrangling the UCI has now officially confirmed the registration of Team Katusha as a professional continental team. Problems for the Russian squad first surfaced last December when Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank were awarded their ProTour licence for 2013, despite effectively having failed the qualifying criteria, leaving Katusha inexplicably unplaced despite finishing in the Tour standings in second spot behind Sky. The UCI economically and enigmatically stated: ‘The request from the team Katusha for registration in the first division has been rejected.’ Katusha launched a fierce and very public campaign to regain their standing and seek clarity over the situation; as things stand they have now received the second division license and are waiting for the final decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in order to obtain the full UCI World Tour/ ProTour license for 2013.
The UCI award team points for ProTour status based, in part, on the performance of the top 12 riders and results from the two previous years although the exact criteria remains somewhat shrouded in mystery.
