updated 8:48 p.m. ET Aug. 15, 2007

GENEVA - The head of cycling’s governing body is concerned that organizers of the Tour de France and other top races are scaring away sponsors like Discovery Channel.

UCI president Pat McQuaid said on Monday that sponsors are reluctant to invest when there is no guarantee the team will race.

“Especially when organizers come out and make all kinds of statements, which are against the rules, deciding who gets to race and who doesn’t, all based on subjective opinion,” McQuaid told The Associated Press.

Two teams were tossed out of this year’s Tour amid doping accusations and suspicions.

“If sponsors aren’t guaranteed their team can race, they won’t commit to the sport,” McQuaid added. “It shows exactly why the sport can’t allow such a thing. We can’t just allow organizers to do their own thing.”

Discovery, the former team of seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, announced Friday that it would disband after this season, citing fractious leadership in the sport, constant doping allegations and struggles to find a new sponsor.

The decision shuts down the sport’s only elite professional team based in the United States.

“It’s not good for world cycling. It’s not good for U.S. cycling,” McQuaid said.

He also blamed chilly relations between the Tour, its fans and Armstrong for Discovery’s demise.

Armstrong won the first of his record seven consecutive Tour titles in 1999 racing for the U.S. Postal Service team. Although he never failed a doping test, the Texan has often been forced to deny allegations that he use banned substances. The French media have long questioned how someone who recovered from cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain could dominate one of the world’s most grueling events.

Armstrong retired in 2005 but remained a visible co-owner of the team operated by Tailwind Sports. The team was a dominant force in cycling for nearly a decade.

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“The French have a love-hate relationship with Lance. They can’t get it into their heads that he won the Tour seven times. The French media continue to make insinuations,” McQuaid said. “They haven’t made Lance or the Discovery team very welcome.”

Another Discovery Channel rider, Alberto Contador, won the Tour de France this year. But the Spaniard has been dogged by doping allegations, and on Friday he again denied taking performance-enhancing drugs and any link to the Spanish doping scandal.

The team signed Giro d’Italia champion Ivan Basso in 2006, who was linked to the Spanish investigation. He later quit the team.

McQuaid said that Discovery’s withdrawal opens a spot for another ProTour team.

He said the odds were “very good” for an American team if one applied, but “we need to set the playing field level so they know they are welcome.”

Teams generally apply in April and May for licenses for the elite tours. The UCI licensing commission usually issues permits in November.

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