Professional teams caught up in a dispute between the Union Cycliste Internationale and major race organizers are poised to make a decision which could force an end to the dispute between the two warring parties.

The UCI on Monday effectively warned teams they could be sanctioned if they turned up to race at Paris-Nice, the first major European stage race of the season, on March 9-16.

Following a long-running dispute, and subsequent split, between the UCI and major race organizers, Paris-Nice's parent company ASO (Amaury Sports Organisation) aims to run the race under the auspices of the French Cycling Federation (FFC), with backing from the French government.

However that "far-reaching" move, according to a strongly-worded UCI statement released on Monday, means the race will no longer be a UCI-sanctioned event. Fears of a similar fate surround the Tour de France, one of several top races owned by ASO.

Cofidis team manager Eric Boyer, in his capacity as president of the International Association of Professional Cycling Teams (AIGCP), said Tuesday he is currently discussing the issue with his fellow team managers.

Boyer said whatever decision is made could determine how the teams approach other races which the UCI may decide to target, including races run by RCS and Unipublic - the respective organizers of a number of top Italian and Spanish races who have also been in dispute with the UCI.

"For the moment I'm consulting with all of the teams so that we can unanimously define which direction we are going to take," Boyer told AFP Tuesday. "After that I will be asking for a meeting with Pat McQuaid to inform him of our intentions.

"Our decision will determine how we will race (other events) the rest of the season," added Boyer, referring to the events run by ASO, RCS and Unipublic.

Races such as the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España are no longer part of the ProTour, the elite series established by the UCI.

Of the 27 races on the 2007 ProTour calendar, there are now only 16. All the races run by ASO, RCS and Unipublic now feature either on a 'World' calendar or an 'Historic' calendar - a name which has yet to be confirmed.

A brief statement by ASO suggested the race organizer is to dig in its heels.

"Despite the hostile positions taken by the UCI President, Paris-Nice will take place as planned from March 9-16, and will be organized according to the technical rules of the French Cycling Federation, in application of the French law," the ASO statement read.

Existing tensions between the UCI and race organizers, mainly over disagreements with the ProTour issues, have worsened this season.

Most recently, ASO controversially did not invite Astana - a ProTour team – to the 2008 Tour de France on the premise that the doping scandal which led to its exit from the 2007 edition had done lasting damage to the race's image.

That decision enraged the UCI, which highlighted the fact that other teams - including Cofidis - were thrown off the race after a rider tested positive.

McQuaid has repeatedly said that he feels Astana, which features Tour de France champion Alberto Contador and third-place finisher Levi Leipheimer, should be allowed to race in July.