Just a day after British Cycling CEO Brian Cookson launched his campaign for the leadership of the Int'l Cycling Union (UCI), "he has been attacked" by current UCI President Pat McQuaid, according to the PA. Cookson "is so far the only person to challenge McQuaid's leadership" as McQuaid, who has been UCI president since '05, seeks to be elected for a third term in September. Several pledges have been made by Cookson, "with anti-doping at the top of the agenda." McQuaid responded to the publication of Cookson's manifesto in Paris "in typically combative style." McQuaid: "Brian Cookson's election manifesto is half-baked, fundamentally flawed and financially impractical. Just telling people what they want to hear is easy. He needs to explain how he is going to make it happen." Cookson "declined to wade into a war of words with his presidential rival but McQuaid opted to go on the attack, questioning numerous aspects of his rival's plans without stating his own position," including the choice of venue for Monday's announcement (PA, 6/25).
