Qatar refused to extend an invitation to the world's No. 1 cycling team for the Tour of Qatar cycling event, accusing the team of "lacking respect".
Etixx-Quick-Step from Belgium has dominated Qatar's event for several years. Team member Tom Boonen won the event in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2012 and Dutch team member Niki Terpstra won in 2014 and 2015. Last year, the Belgian team won more races than any other cycling team in the world.
However, Qatar Cycling Federation President Sheikh Khalid Bin Ali Al Thani seems less than impressed with Etixx.
"I've decided not to send them an invitation despite their wish to participate," he said, according to Business Insider . "On several occasions the team has displayed disciplinary problems. For example, they take too long to change and give interviews even though they are expected on live television, and they take too long to reach the podium."
Thani also accused the cyclists of being disrespectful to a female staff member of the event.
"We sent them a special lady to hurry them up, and they talked to her not in a very nice way and waved her off like that," he said, according to Velo News . "That was not good."
The absence of Etixx – as well as several other top teams who aren't attending this year – may get in the way of Qatar's ambitions of joining the UCI World Tour.
All 18 UCI World Tour teams must attend a cycling event for it to be included as part of the UCI World Tour. Regardless, Thani remains confident that the Tour of Qatar will join the WorldTour in 2017.
"We are the oldest tour in the region so if the World Tour is coming to the area it should come here first," he said. "We have good confidence in that."
The Qatar Tour was launched in 2002 and was later followed by similar initiatives in Oman and the United Arab Emirates.