Int'l Cycling Union (UCI) staff "have been accused of a last 'desperate' attempt to torpedo" British Cycling President Brian Cookson’s bid to unseat Pat McQuaid as UCI president "after banning the use of audio-visual material during Friday’s pre-election speeches," according to Ben Rumsby of the London TELEGRAPH. The UCI last week "had no objection to either candidate employing visual aids during their 10-minute presentations." UCI Dir General Christophe Hubschmid's assistant emailed them to request a “storage device” in order to facilitate the presentation of the material. However, she "followed that up on Thursday with an email to management committee members making it clear no 'backdrop' could be used." One delegate in Florence who did not wish to be identified said, “The switch on this is bizarre and a bit desperate. The outside world is watching and the UCI are now not even allowing the use of visuals. Sadly, it symbolizes the way things are run under the current regime" (TELEGRAPH, 9/26). In London, Owen Slot wrote there is a possibility that "one of the dirtiest and most controversial battles in sports politics will draw to a close" Friday morning. Yet if McQuaid, the Irish incumbent, successfully retains his position, the "blood-letting and the embarrassment heaped on the sport will only continue" (LONDON TIMES, 9/26).
