Inside the war over the Tour de France, and how it may change pro cycling forever

Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters; Bryn Lennon/Getty

The two most powerful people in cycling - Jean-Étienne Amaury, president of the Amaury Sport Organization, which owns the Tour de France, and Brian Cookson, president of the International Cycling Union - have locked horns.

The owner of the world's largest annual sporting event, the Tour de France, has dealt cycling's governing body a massive blow in a political war that has renewed infighting in the sport over power, money, and the future of professional cycling.

After the Amaury Sport Organisation rejected reforms announced by the International Cycling Union in December, it made a counter-announcement that starting in 2017 it would be pulling its races - notably cycling's crown jewel, the Tour - from the highest level of the sport, known as the WorldTour.

That could spell disaster for teams and riders, not to mention threaten the existence of the WorldTour. It could mean some teams that normally enjoy an automatic invite to the Tour would be left out, and that in turn could see sponsors taking their money home and quitting the sport, unless the two factions come to an agreement, which appears far from happening.

The rift has sent shockwaves through the world of cycling. Here's a deeper look at the ASO-UCI deadlock, the latest in a complex, long-simmering conflict: