Oscar Pereiro is frustrated at suggestions that Tour de France officials are considering leaving the 2006 Tour without an official winner.

Faced with the unsavory prospect of seeing winner Floyd Landis disqualified for doping, Tour officials are reportedly considering leaving the 2006 results as they stand, without an official winner and runner-up Pereiro staying where he is in the No. 2 spot.

An angry Pereiro said he wouldn’t race next year in the Tour if Landis can’t win in his legal battle to clear his name and he wasn’t awarded the overall victory.

“I don’t have a lot of information about this, but I wouldn’t be there in 2007. Why should I go back if they don’t respect the rules?” Pereiro told the Spanish daily AS. “I want all this solved as soon as possible. All this talk of ‘virtual winner’ doesn’t do anyone any good.”

Tour officials are set to unveil the 2007 route in a lavish ceremony Thursday without the luxury of knowing exactly who will be declared the official winner of the 2006 edition.

Landis tested positive for an unusual testosterone/epitestosterone ratio following his dramatic Stage 17 victory into Morzine and is facing a two-year racing ban and the loss of his Tour crown. The American is insisting on his innocence and has mounted a high-profile public relations and legal effort to clear his name.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is handling the disciplinary process, but a hearing isn’t expected until early 2007. Until USADA makes a final ruling against Landis, he remains the official Tour winner.

With appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport likely no matter how the decision comes down, the issue might not be resolved before July’s start of next year’s Tour.

Until then, the fate of the Tour and Pereiro remain in legal limbo.

In a story in Wednesday’s L’Equipe (owned by ASO, which also owns the Tour de France), officials are now reportedly floating the idea of leaving the top spot vacant if Landis loses his legal battle. The story interviewed several of cycling’s major players to gauge opinions on the idea.

That posture would be contrary to long-standing rules that promote the second-place rider to overall victor in doping cases and disqualifications. Last year, Roberto Heras tested positive for the banned blood booster EPO during the 2005 Vuelta a España and runner-up Denis Menchov was eventually named winner.

Suggestions that the victory would not be passed to Pereiro have angered those with the most to lose.

Illes Balears-Caisse d’Epargne manager José Miguel Echávarri – who steered Pedro Delgado and Miguel Indurain to Tour victories in the 1980s and 1990s – said it would be unfair to change the rules just because Tour officials didn’t like it.

“The rules and regulations are there to be followed, and even more so for the those who make them up. You can’t change the rules at halftime,” Echávarri told L’Equipe. “If they don’t like the situation, they can change the rules for next year. But now they cannot take away the victory from Pereiro. In the Olympics and all sport, when the first-place is positive, the victory falls to second place. Those are the rules of doping.”

Echávarri even suggested that Tour officials knew that Landis failed his “A” sample following his victory into Morzine before the Tour finished arrived to Paris.

“We have proof that the organizers already knew that Landis had given a positive before the end of the race. Why did they let him stand on the podium?” Echávarri said. “Enough with the hypocrisy.”

Pereiro is one of the few stars expected to attend Thursday’sunveiling ceremony. It will be interesting to see how Tour officials handle the delicate issue.

Astaná fight moves to boardrooms
The struggle over the future of the Astaná team cranks up this week as the team’s fate will be discussed with the ProTour License Commission in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Pablo Antón, who co-owns Active Bay sports with controversial sports manager Manolo Sáiz, is scheduled to appear before the License Commission today to defend the company’s interest despite efforts by powerful Kazakh forces to create a new team without Sáiz and Antón.

Active Bay representatives insist they have valid contracts through the 2007 season with Astaná – a consortium of Kazakhstan businesses that took over the sponsorship following the departure of Liberty Seguros in May.

Lawyers also say Active Bay continues to hold the team’s ProTour license, which guarantees its presence in cycling’s most important races, as well as valid contracts with more than 20 of the team’s top stars, including recent Vuelta a España champion Alexandre Vinokourov.

Active Bay’s status was thrown into uncertainty when Sáiz was among five people arrested by Spanish authorities in May that blew the lid open on an alleged widespread blood doping ring based in Spain.

Sáiz, however, is not facing any criminal charges in Spanish courts and insists his detention was a matter of bad timing. He was arrested after meeting with alleged mastermind Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes and hematologist José Luis Merino in a Madrid café.

That hasn’t stopped Vinokourov and his cadre of powerful Kazakh allies to insist the team’s contracts are invalid following Sáiz’ alleged links to the Operación Puerto investigation that kept Vinokourov and other riders out of the Tour de France.

A parallel management company to create a new team distinct from the Active Bay structure for the 2007 season is already in place. The new holding company, headed up by Swiss manager Marc Biver, has signed several top riders to new contracts for the 2007 season, including Tour de France podium man Andreas Klöden.

The messy business of who exactly owns the team, who holds the valued ProTour license and who has signed contracts with more than two dozen riders will surely take weeks if not months to sort out.

Active Bay representatives have promised an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if ProTour officials try to invalidate the team’s license and even hinted at further legal action in civil courts to seek damages.

Basso confirms Discovery, Barloworld offers
Giro d’Italia champion Ivan Basso is considering offers to join either Barloworld or Discovery Channel for the 2007 season.

Team officials from the continental team confirmed to The Associated Press that Basso plans to meet with Barloworld director Claudio Corti this week. Giovanni Lombardi, the ex-pro now acting as Basso’s representative, also confirmed to the AP that Discovery Channel has made a formal offer to the Italian.

“We have received offers from both and those are the two offers we’re looking at right now,” Lombardi told AP. “I expect a decision will be made by the end of next week. I can’t say anything more than that.”

Barloworld officials said they want to meet Basso to hear out his contract demands before moving forward with negotiations.

Basso is free to sign with another team following his departure from Team CSC last week. Basso and the Danish team agreed it was best for both parties that the beleaguered Giro champion move on.

Basso has been under the microscope since he was among nine riders from four teams kicked out of the 2006 Tour de France after their names appeared as part of evidence in the ongoing “Operación Puerto” doping investigation in Spain.

Basso vehemently denied working with alleged mastermind Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes. Earlier this month, the anti-doping commission of the Italian Olympic Committee shelved disciplinary actions against Basso for a lack of evidence.

The case could be reopened if new evidence comes forward and the UCI promises to press for sanctions in an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Basso said earlier this week he wants to race both the Giro and Tour next year, a task that might be difficult – but not impossible – if he rides for a continental team. While ProTour teams receive an automatic spot in the three grand tours, continental teams have to hope for an invitation. If the cloud of suspicion continues to dog Basso next spring, however, Tour de France officials are unlikely to issue such an invitation to any continental team he is a part of.

Schleck brothers continue with CSC
Team CSC has signed contract extensions with Luxembourg brothers Frank and Andy Schleck, with Frank signed on through the 2009 season and Andy through 2008.

Frank Schleck, 26, enjoyed a breakout season in 2006, winning Amstel Gold Race and the Alpe d’Huez stage at the Tour de France and finishing third overall in the individual ProTour rankings.

Andy Schleck, 21, who many say is even better than his older brother, saw more racing action this season with several solid results in ProTour and European continental races, including a pair of stage victories in the Sachsen Tour.

Laiseka not done yet
Elusive Basque climber Roberto Laiseka hasn’t thrown in the towel yet despite a career-threatening crash during the 2006 Giro d’Italia that left him with a shattered right knee.

The Euskaltel-Euskadi rider underwent surgery Tuesday in a Vitoria hospital to remove pins still in his leg from a May 23 surgery to repair damage to his leg. Doctors said Laiseka - who won an emotional stage during the 2001 Tour de France in the heart of the Pyrenees while cheered on by tens of thousands of rabid Basque fans – could return to training within 10 days.