Cycling: Rider sues team for unpaid wages

The Swiss rider Mauro Gianetti has filed a suit in a German court against the Coast cycling team, seeking about £120,000 in unpaid wages, his lawyer announced yesterday.

Gianetti is one of three riders who has left the team. Danish cyclists Lars Michaelsen and Frank Hoy are the others.

A spokesman for Coast, Marcel Wuest, said Gianetti had not been paid because he had not met performance clauses in his contract. "The money was tied to world ranking points the riders gain. Gianetti was well under the stipulations," insisted Wuest.

Cycling's world governing body UCI will hold a hearing today to decide whether to grant Coast a GS-1 licence, allowing it to compete in the sport's top events such as the Tour de France.

The German team will have to prove it is financially stable. Gaining the licence is also a prerequisite for signing the 1997 Tour de France winner, Jan Ullrich.