The UCI’s Congress met today in Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio to pick a President. It chose Brian Cookson by 24 votes to 18.
If attendees wanted a clue to the direction of events, they needed only to check their tourist guides as the palace was once the workplace of Niccolò Machiavelli, author of The Prince and probably the world’s greatest political schemer. However the procedure lacked finesse and with the world watching the meeting turned into a farce.
The battle between Pat McQuaid and Brian Cookson to be President of the UCI rages on. At times it’s personal, at times it’s policy-based but it’s also procedural.
Now there’s a dispute over whether Pat McQuaid has actually been nominated by the Thai and Moroccan federations with Cookson calling on McQuaid to show the proof. Most interestingly McQuaid is not calmly providing the paperwork but calling on Cookson to back off. Why?
The more you read into things, the more McQuaid hints his nomination is in danger but for the sake of the contest he should still be allowed to stand for President.
The World Calendar features men’s pro cycling’s best races plus the Tour of Beijing. It comes with 18 UCI Pro Teams or at least that is the plan. But it is becoming apparent that there could be just 17 teams in the top flight for 2014 despite efforts by the UCI to encourage candidates for promotion.
This shortage is unexpected and even if a team decides to make a bid for promotion highlights a problem with the team licensing process and the gap between the top level of the sport and the rest.
Bjarne Riis is going to court to reduce a doping punishment. But it’s to do with the UCI’s rule that a returning rider from a significant doping ban cannot earn “sporting value” points for his team. These points are used to rank a team for its licence status and in the case of Saxo-Tinkoff, it means Alberto Contador’s points from the Tour de France, Vuelta and more don’t count. The team’s not got many points because it’s not won much but Roman Kreuziger and Rafał Majka have collected some.
But it’s not about Saxo-Tinkoff or Riis. The point with this punishment is that it’s a sanction above and beyond the WADA Code.
Yesterday saw the news that the UCI will vote on a special amendment to its constitution at its annual congress in September. The proposal allows presidential candidates to secure nominations from around the world and extends the deadline for nomination from late June to the end of August.
It’s hard not to see this as a bold move to ensure Pat McQuaid secures a nomination after he lost out in Ireland and his Swiss nomination faces a legal challenge. If the idea to broaden the nomination process is worthy, the backdated element looks like a rearguard move to save Pat McQuaid, as if the rules are being changed to suit an individual rather than the UCI.
But as tragic as the proposal appears, its chances of being adopted look slim. In fact it could all backfire and undermine the UCI’s reputation.
With Brian Cookson announcing he’s standing for election to be the President of the UCI many have been asking how you get elected to the job?
When is the vote, who gets to choose and how can you have your say?
It’s been all over the newspapers on Monday and it is expected to be confirmed on Tuesday that British Cycling’s Brian Cookson will stand for President of the UCI, challenging the current President Pat McQuaid.
Whilst we wait to hear what Cookson’s got to say, there are a few things to look out for. For all the talk of a challenge, Cookson is a senior UCI insider. But this is how the system works.
On his way to winning the Tour of Switzerland in 2001, Lance Armstrong underwent several anti-doping controls. On two occasions in this race Armstrong’s samples were suspicious with data suggesting the strong probability of EPO use but crucially not firm enough to launch a formal prosecution.
A major athlete with strong suspicions of heavy doping? You’d think this would have set red lights flashing and alarm bells ringing within the UCI. Did it?
Who runs cycling? Ag2r La Mondiale will sit out the Critérium du Dauphiné in accordance with the MPCC rules which state a team must stop racing for eight days following two positive anti-doping controls in the past 12 months. But the UCI rules say a team has to ride every race on the World Tour calendar and a substantial six-figure fine could be liable.
But there’s no need for an oppositional tone, the MPCC has proposed ideas which the UCI has readily adopted. Perhaps it’s time to do the same?
There’s a lot of focus on the likely re-election of Pat McQuaid for a third term as the UCI President. Rightly so because the job is an important one, both in terms of the political power but also the symbolism of being the boss of competitive cycling.
But I can’t help thinking there’s too much talk about the man and not enough about the job and the organisation itself.