Times are tough for Pat McQuaid. The outgoing president of the International Cyclist Union (UCI), running for a third term, feels increasingly alone a month and a few days before the election, scheduled for September 27 in Florence, Italy. For two days, he is no longer even, legally speaking, in a position to run for re-election. The Swiss Cycling Federation (Swiss Cycling) has in fact decided to withdraw its support.
Little reminder of previous episodes. Last fall, Pat McQuaid resisted the demand, made here and there in the world of cycling, to submit his resignation as president of the UCI after the publication of the report from the American Anti-Doping Agency on Lance Armstrong. A report in which his name is mentioned several times, for having protected the American runner. The Irish leader persists. Better: he announces his intention to run for a third term at the head of the UCI. According to the institution's statutes, a presidential candidate must be formally supported by at least three national federations.
Hard blow for Pat McQuaid: Ireland, his own camp, grants it to him, before turning around and withdrawing its support. The outgoing president then turns to his “friends” and obtains the approval of Morocco, Thailand, then finally Switzerland.
A war of words and a battle of press releases then begins between Pat Mc Quaid and his opponent for the position, Brian Cookston, the boss of British cycling. The first criticizes the second for a program that is “falsely innovative, unrealistic and financially untenable. » In return, the Englishman accuses the Irishman of being a “dictator” responsible for the current ills of professional cycling. Atmosphere.
The withdrawal of Swiss Cycling, decided after a long internal debate, cost its president, Richard Chassiot, his position since March 2012. Above all, it seriously compromises Pat McQuaid's chances of re-election. However, the president of the UCI has not given up all his chances of retaining his chair. The Malaysian Federation has in fact requested that an amendment be put to the vote at the UCI Congress allowing a candidate to run for president if he has obtained the support of two federations, and no longer three. A request guided by McQuaid himself? The person concerned obviously denies: “There was an insinuation that I had been involved in this process with the Malaysian Federation. But I have had absolutely no discussions with the Malaysian Federation on this subject.
Response from Brian Cookston: “No amount of manipulation and legal bluster can dispel doubts and questions. The important principle in any democracy is to follow the rules as they are, not how you want them to be. »Professional cycling really didn't need such an affair.
