The lawsuit disputes the decision of the UCI Licences Commission, which on Monday rejected Katusha Team's license application for inclusion in the 2013 UCI WorldTour.

"Applying to the CAS became a direct consequence of the policy of isolation pursued by the UCI License Commission, and was made in strict accordance with all law regulations," the Katusha team said in a statement issued today.

The UCI and its Licences Commission so far has declined to reveal its reasons for expelling Team Katusha from the WorldTour starting from next season.

Team Katusha is headed by General Manager Viatcheslav Ekimov who is a three-time Olympic champion and former teammate of Lance Armstrong on the US Postal Service team.

The team features number 1 WorldTour rider Joaquim Rodriguez of Spain and the WorldTour expulsion means the team must rely on wildcard invitations to the 2013 Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia, the Vuelta a Espana, and one day classics.