Tour organizers pulling races from UCI WorldTour in 2017 (The Associated Press)

The Tour de France and other major races are being pulled from the International Cycling Union’s elite calendar in 2017 in a renewed fight for control of the sport. Amaury Sport Organisation, the organizer of the Tour, last month rejected the UCI’s proposed reforms for the 2017 WorldTour, and has the support of a majority of race organizers in its bid to be free of cycling’s governing body. ASO said in a statement on Friday it told the UCI ”it has opted for the registration of its events on the Hors Classe calendar for season 2017,” meaning it will have more freedom to invite the teams of its choice to its events.