A local court cleared defending champion Paolo Bettini to compete in Sunday’s world championship road race despite the Italian cyclist’s refusal to sign an anti-doping pledge.

In a defeat for the host city, the court rejected arguments that such a refusal was enough to keep him out of the event.

“We regret the decision but we accept it,” Stuttgart Mayor Wolfgang Schuster said.

Stuttgart claimed it has a binding deal with the UCI to ban any rider who has not signed the pledge, something the world federation vehemently denied.

Even if the UCI is angry that the world champion refuses to sign to the voluntary commitment, it said the host city was totally out of line to seek a court ban and it undermined the success of the weeklong championships.

Late Thursday, it already had guaranteed Bettini would be at the start, whatever the court ruling.

“I never had the feeling I wouldn’t race the world championships because I knew that I had not broken any rules,” Bettini said.

Despite the ruling, the city kept up its war of words with UCI President Pat McQuaid.

“The question whether Bettini can start is not a judicial one, but one of cycling’s credibility,” Schuster said. “The UCI must know itself what signal it wants to give by allowing Bettini to start. This is certainly not a sign of a new start.”

It is the kind of rhetoric that has come to overshadow the first two days of time trial racing. The road races are set for the weekend.

McQuaid accused Stuttgart sports commissioner Susanne Eisenmann of using the world championships and the doping issue to promote her own agenda, and referred to an alleged outstanding financial debt with the UCI linked to the championships.

“It seems she is trying to find a way out of that commitment,” McQuaid said late Thursday. “This sort of behavior for a city which is supposed to be a sports city does not do it good.”

Eisenmann also said the city was ready to sue the UCI if the ZDF public broadcaster pulls out of the championships, causing financial losses for sponsors.

Late Wednesday, the UCI was forced to allow Alejandro Valverde of Spain and Allan Davis of Australia to compete despite the federation’s doping suspicions.

Late Thursday, Giro d’Italia champion Danilo Di Luca withdrew from the world championships because of doping allegations. Di Luca withdrew from Sunday’s highlight of the championships after the Italian Olympic Committee recommended the ProTour leader be banned for four months for doping.

“It’s a scandal,” Di Luca said. “I’m going home without ever being banned, after months of sacrifice. (The decision) only served to prevent me from racing the world championship. ... I will be cleared 100 percent.”

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AP Sports Writer Nesha Starcevic contributed to this report.