It's not just cyclists who compete during the Tour de France. Pat McQuaid, the president of the International Cycling Union (UCI), is also taking advantage of the 100rd edition of the Grande Boucle to seek another form of Yellow Jersey: a third mandate at the head of world cycling. The Irishman is in the campaign. And he makes it known, by widely distributing his manifesto, entitled “A promising future for a sport that has changed”.
The outgoing president, in office since 2005, is a major player in the fight against doping. “Cycling has changed since my first election as president of the UCI,” he writes. It is now possible to win while being clean. The UCI invests more than $7,5 million a year, approximately 5,6 million euros, to keep our sport clean and pursue riders who refuse to embrace the new culture of clean cycling. »
Opposite, the Englishman Brian Cookson, president of the British Federation, poses as a challenger. And he doesn't spare his criticism. “Pat McQuaid was president of the UCI for two terms,” he says, while his manifesto outlines a future plan. I think a lot of people are going to judge him on the last eight years. Under his presidency, far too much energy and resources have been devoted to destructive bickering and conflict. The UCI must take the necessary measures to restore the image of cycling and its own credibility with the public. »
The shepherd's response to the shepherdess, after the same Pat McQuaid commented on Brian Cookson's program for the presidency: “His manifesto is poorly constructed, has fundamental flaws and is financially unfeasible. Telling people what they want to hear is easy. He needs to explain how he plans to go about it. »
The battle for the UCI presidency has only just begun. But between McQuaid the Irishman and Cookson the Englishman, she looks furious. In English in the text. It seems that, as in the general classification of the Tour, power now belongs to the Anglo-Saxons.
