Int'l Cycling Union President Pat McQuaid "has pledged to continue the fight against doping" if he is reelected as president, according to the BBC. The Irishman, 63, "is opposed by head of British Cycling Brian Cookson, who is a member of the UCI." In his manifesto for running for the UCI presidency, McQuaid -- a former professional cyclist -- pledged to:
- Establish an independent audit of the UCI's actions when Lance Armstrong was winning the Tour de France, from '99 to '05.
- Make the UCI's Cycling Anti Doping Foundation more independent and help fund it by increasing the UCI World Tour teams' contributions to anti-doping.
- Set up an independent UCI Women's Commission with responsibility for developing all disciplines of women's cycling.
Cookson "is pledging to establish an independent body to manage anti-doping, develop women's cycling, overhaul road racing and strengthen the sport's credibility at Olympic level if he is elected" (
BBC, 7/8). In Dublin, Guy Aspin reported Cookson claimed McQuaid's record on doping told its own story and said "a complete change of leadership" was needed. Cookson: "Pat has been president of the UCI for two terms. While his manifesto outlines what he believes still needs to be done for the UCI, I think that many people will judge him on his record, and ask why those things haven't been done in the last eight years. Unfortunately under his presidency far too much energy and resource have been devoted to destructive feuding and conflict rather than grabbing hold of the issues, listening to the right people and delivering solutions" (
IRISH INDEPENDENT, 7/8). The AFP reported McQuaid "has leapt to the defence of the curent crop of cyclists, blasting the press who are focused more on doping than racing at the Tour de France." He said, "I think the riders deserve another thing than to be asked about doping as the first question when they show up in the press conference" (
AFP, 7/9).
