UCI: compare and contrast

McQuaid knows he isn’t engaged in a popularity contest, however. His board and the national federations are behind him. That is enough.

The Independent, 28 February 2010

McQuaid said in an email to me late last year he didn’t want to do an interview with me because I’m “not UCI-friendly”. Spoke volumes.

Lionel Birnie, Cyclesport Magazine, via Twitter, 2 March 2010

Surely a governing body should be looking beyond its board and the national federations? What about the riders, fans, sponsors and broadcasters? There are voices out there that the UCI needs to hear, many people have a stake in the sport.

Yes there are critics out there but as this blog has argued before, the UCI plays a very defensive media game. Often the UCI is right but because it doesn’t tackle its critics it just leaves a vacuum for others to fill. If only the UCI would engage with a wider audience than its board.