Teams have voted to ride in Paris-Nice despite a threat by the UCI to exclude them from its events.

"The UCI has made it quite clear to the teams that they needed to be aware of the decision they make," International Cycling Union president Pat McQuaid (pictured) had said earlier.

"If they decide to go with (Paris-Nice organisers) ASO they have firmly taken the decision to be out of the UCI. We will work them out of the UCI," he added.

Exclusion from the UCI would prevent teams taking part in the ProTour events and world championships, which the sport's governing body also organises.

At a meeting on Friday teams voted by a majority to take part in the race, which starts on Sunday, after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) declined to rule in the matter.

Fifteen members of the Association of Professional Cycling Teams (AIGCP) voted to go ahead and the seven teams who called on CAS to rule abstained but accepted the majority decision.

Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), which also runs the Tour de France, has refused to join the ProTour amid a dispute with the UCI over who competes in ASO events.

Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme welcomed the decision by the teams to start the Paris-Nice race on Sunday.

"Of course, the decision pleases me," he said. "My priority now is to give the race back to the riders and celebrate its 75th anniversary on the Mount Ventoux slopes on Thursday.

The teams called for a new meeting between all concerned to be held at the Paris-Nice finish on March 16.

"We did not opt for ASO against the UCI," said Credit Agricole team director Serge Beucherie.

"And we need to sit down again to solve the problems. We don't want to deal with the same issues again before Paris-Roubaix (another ASO race in April)."

UCI president McQuaid conceded that ASO had succeeded in destroying the ProTour system it had always rejected, saying: "The ProTour system as it is today is completely bombed".

Asked what would happen if teams were kicked out of the UCI, he added: "We'd start on a new system with the teams, organisers and cyclists who wish to respect the regulations of the UCI. What is at stake is the authority and the autonomy of the UCI."

The week-long Paris-Nice race was dropped from the showcase ProTour calendar over the dispute with ASO but the organisers, in agreement with the teams and the French Cycling Federation (FFC), decided it would go ahead outside UCI regulations.

The FFC, its president Jean Pitallier and Eric Boyer, AIGCP president, all face disciplinary proceedings because of their backing of the event, the UCI said in a statement on Friday.

RCS are also in dispute with the UCI and sports events director Angelo Zomegnan said he sympathised with ASO.

"I understand the ASO position because we're in the last period of a long match between the UCI and organisers," he said.

"We can't accept the abuse from the UCI anymore. It is not my goal to know if Pat McQuaid is unhappy with us. We are unhappy with him. The teams and riders are against McQuaid."

The Belgian federation, which represents one of the biggest nations in the sport, supported its French counterpart.

"Instead of bringing moderation, the UCI never ceases to make matters worse. We advise its leaders to take a cool bath to calm down," it said in a statement.

Reuters