Lawyers for Sniper Cycling owner Nick Nuyens are asking the UCI to take action following a ruling by a Belgian labor court earlier this year.

In June, the court overturned an earlier ruling and found a breach of contract by van Art, who left Sniper's setup (then known as Verandas Willems-Crelan) in 2018 and joined Jumbo-Visma shortly thereafter.

Juan Art had argued that there were "urgent" reasons for terminating his contract, but a recent ruling ruled against him and ordered him to pay Nuens €662,000 in compensation. In a last attempt to overturn the ruling, van Art has appealed to the Belgian High Court of Justice.

Since the Belgian labor court ruling, Nuyens' representatives claim that they have written to the UCI on three separate occasions, but have received no response.

"It's as if we don't exist," attorney Rudy Desmet told Cycling News on Thursday.

The UCI then told Cycling News that it was "still reviewing the latest documentation" and would "initiate disciplinary proceedings if the documentation is sufficient to establish a violation of UCI rules."

In a 2018 exchange with Van Aert's representative viewed by Cyclingnews, the UCI stated that it cannot prevent him from signing with another team while the dispute is ongoing, but if he is later found to be at fault, especially by an employment tribunal, disciplinary action UCI warns that it reserves the right to take disciplinary action by the employment tribunal, especially if he is later found to be at fault.

According to De Smet, that was proven in June, but he conceded that there is a chance (albeit slight) that the verdict could be overturned and a retrial held if Van Art appeals to the High Court.

He is now asking the UCI to take action against the three parties found to be at fault: van Aert, Jumbo Visma, and van Aert's agent, Jeff van den Bosch.

"After the June judgment we contacted the other parties and asked them to settle. Jumbo-Visma refused to settle," DeSmet said.

"They took a risk because they signed a contract with him, fully aware that he may have breached the contract. In the meantime, two years had passed and the court found it to be an illegal breach of contract. They took the risk and should pay compensation according to the UCI rules."

According to these rules, Jumbo-Visma could be fined between 30,000 and 500,000 Swiss francs and must pay compensation to Sniper Cycling equal to the balance of Van Aert's previous contract salary.

As for Van Art, it stipulates that if the breach of contract occurs outside the transfer period from August 1 to December 31, he could be fined between 300 and 100,000 Swiss francs and suspended for one to four months.

This does not seem to apply given that he signed a contract with Jumbo Visma in December 2018, although he terminated his contract in September 2018 and signed a new one in March the following year.

While Desme does not deny it, he is of the opinion that Juan Art is no longer their true target.

"Based on the regulations and timing, there could be a suspension, but that is for the UCI to decide. The riders have paid compensation and the UCI might take that into account."

"We are not aiming to suspend Wout Van Aert. In our view, he has paid compensation both literally and figuratively, but his new team has not, nor has his agent. They are trying to get away with it with no repercussions.

Desmet confirmed that he first wrote to the UCI about the matter in August of this year, claiming that he decided to wait two months after the verdict so as not to interfere with Van Aert's goals in the Tour de France and the Olympics; he wrote again in October and last week, but received no response.

"It is not normal for the UCI not to respond," De Smet said. 'These are important riders, an important team, and yet ...... My client no longer has a team.

"In the eyes of other teams, this sets a very important precedent. Because any rider could be in breach of contract. I don't understand why the UCI is holding back. This is about cycling's business model."

In a statement to Cycling News, the UCI said: "The UCI is in the process of reviewing the latest documents brought to its attention. If the documentation is sufficient to substantiate a violation of UCI rules, disciplinary proceedings will be initiated. Such an assessment shall be made on a case-by-case basis for each of the parties involved."

The case will now be brought before the Belgian High Court, which will deal with the procedural elements of the labor tribunal rather than the facts of the case itself. No date has yet been set for the appeal, and no end is yet in sight to this long and bitter struggle.