UCI grant Saiz licence

Saiz was implicated in the Operacion Puerto blood doping scandal in his former role as manager of the Liberty Seguros team, though the UCI insisted they were unable to deny him a licence, as his role in the affair could not be proven.

In a statement, the UCI criticised the "lack of information on the part of the Spanish authoritites" and "the highly confusing general context of Operacion Puerto."

The UCI also insisted it would "take every measure that it thinks necessary to protect the interests of cycling, especially concerning disciplinary procedures against any implicated individuals."

Saiz stepped down as manager of Liberty Seguros in the wake of the allegations, after which the team, led by Vuelta a Espana winner Alexander Vinokourov, changed sponsors to Astana, and are now managed by former race director of the Tour de Suisse, Marc Biver.