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Pat McQuaid at the Tour Down Under (photo credit credit Santos Tour Down Under : John Veage).jpgUCI presidency: Pat McQuaid strikes back
The war of words between Pat McQuaid, president of cycling’s governing body, the UCI and challenger Brian Cookson escalated a nortch this afternoon as McQuaid issued a statement “clarifying misinformation” about his multiple nominations.
Accusing Cookson of not “showing an interest in cycling around the world over the years” McQuaid claims his multiple candidature is perfectly legal under the UCI constitution.
“The UCI Constitution permits anyone to be a member of multiple federations - although only one licence may be held by any one individual - and any federation to nominate one of their members as a candidate,” says the statement.
McQuaid said: “No one has changed the rules. No one has broken the rules. I have received enormous support from federations around the world urging me to stand for re-election and expressing their hope that I will continue on as UCI President. These nominations are a testament to that.
“Morocco, for example, is now African’s number one cycling nation qualifying riders for the UCI World Championships and the Olympic Games. I have witnessed the growth of cycling in Morocco on my many visits there since becoming UCI President in 2005 and my membership of that federation goes back to early 2009.
“There was nothing stopping Brian Cookson from showing an interest in cycling around the world over the years by joining other federations that would have allowed him to secure additional nominations when he decided to stand for President. I respect that his horizons however do not stretch much further than British Cycling and that his home is where his heart and ambitions as a Presidential candidate lie.”
McQuaid claims that Cookson and UCI management committee member Mike Plant should not be surprised at the rule change proposed by the Malaysian federation, which would allow any candidate to stand for president with nominations from any two federations.
“The very essence of this proposal was first suggested in an email from the Asian Continental Confederation to all members of the UCI Management Committee on 22 May 2013 as a means of strengthening the independence of the President,” says the statement.
“This proposal should not come as a surprise to anyone on the UCI management committee. It has now been formally submitted in accordance with the rules and it is for Congress to decide whether it should be accepted or rejected. Unlike Mr. Cookson, I have enough confidence in my candidature to respect that,” said McQuaid.
“Whatever the decision of Congress it will not change the fact that I have three valid nominations to stand as a candidate for re-election. While Brian Cookson and his commercial supporters may wish otherwise I am pleased to declare that he will face an election in September and that they can not escape that reality.”
“As Brian himself stated recently:
“Democratic institutions become stronger by having leadership contests, not weaker, so I welcome anybody who wants to stand as a candidate.
“Let’s have the debate - it’s good, it’s healthy and that’s how democracy should be. I’m quite happy to be the only challenger, or one of several challengers.”
“Brian should explain what has changed since he made that statement,” said McQuaid.
John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.
He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.
Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.
John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.
He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.
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31 comments
"Accusing Cookson of not “showing an interest in cycling around the world over the years” McQuaid claims his multiple candidature is perfectly legal under the UCI constitution."
You have to question whether FP's 'interest in cycling around the world' is more to do with improving/extending the sport rather than self-interest.
And if it's the former, why is it Brian Cookson that's talking about developing the women's side of the sport, when FP's had more than enough time to address it ?
thanks for the new fat pat photo
Nothing to do with working on the Tour of Langkawi obviously
Where does it say in the UCI constitution that someone (in this case, the President) may be a member of multiple federations?
Article 51 of the constitution states that the nomination must come from the federation of the candidate...Mr. McQuiad is Irish, and they will not nominate him. Alternatively, he lives in Switzerland (lucky him), and their nomination is being contested in the courts soon.
How can he be permitted to be nominated by Thailand and Morocco when he doesn't hold a passport for either country through birth, residence, or by marriage?
Pat, you're wrong in this instance...so do the good thing and fall on your own sword. Resign, in other words.
Thanks in advance.
cxmad
Seriously, it's time. Off you f***.
My God. It makes FIFA look honest.
Just go.
Well it helps to be au fait with slander and libel laws when one discusses the leadership of the UCI. (Bribe taking liars, Pat and his predecessor. Oh dear I've done it again. Made a fair comment, that is.)
Would it be libellous if i was to say 'McQuaid really is a dick isnt he'?
Because if it is - i would not say that. Obviously.
No. That would be covered by ridicule and insult, and consequently be something you are perfectly entitled to say. You would only fall foul of the Law if, while insulting Pat, you made specific reference to his ethnicity, nationality, religious faith, or sexual orientation, in a manner to stir up hatred against whole sections of the community as a whole.
Thanks for the legal advice.
and by the way, we now have a different photo of Pat, more in line with his general demeanour, but any chance we could get a more recent one. Maybe the one where he gets of his private jet returning all tanned and souvenired from Marrakech?
What we need is the second picture from this article:
http://inrng.com/2013/07/mcquaid-uci-nomination-malaysia/
Agreed. We could have a caption competition!
I just had to copy and paste this comment from Gary_K on a different forum as it made me laugh out hard
"And the organisers of the Eurovision song contest will now let countries select singers / bands from other countries to represent them if they can't find anyone good enough from within to potentially win!"
Shouldn't we get all those Moroccan and Malaysian cycling clubs to challenge their national federation's nomination of McQuaid - what if there was someone else interested in standing from those countries?
Can someone not just do a Kennedy style assassination please....Guns are legal if I remember rightly in Switzerland, I'm willing to travel if you can teach me how to aim at a LARGE, Smelly, Slimy, Creepy, Turd like substance
GO Pat, time for a change.......
This is the text of an e-mail which I sent to the Malaysian cycling convention a few minutes ago. Feel free to copy and paste it. Let's not get mad, let's get organised. If only a hundred of us send this e-mail, it'll show the depth of feeling on this matter. You can send it to: pkbmalaysia [at] gmail.com - courtesy of Jon Vaughters twitter feed.
"Dear Sir,
I have recently read of the proposed changes to the UCI's election procedure, specifically relating to the nomination of the UCI president and their relationship with the national committees.
While I feel that changing the rules to make the UCI president less hidebound to nomination by their national committee could lead to an over-all increase in presidential accountable on a global level, the time of this move is highly suspicious.
As there is already an on-going election process within the UCI, it is deeply suspect to change the rules by which this election is governed. As there appear to be some difficulties for the current UCI president in gaining nomination by his national convention - both Ireland and Switzerland - this move is highly damaging as it appears to be made in order to support the incumbent UCI president to the detriment of the current challenging candidate, Brian Cookson.
As there is already a lack of trust in both the cycling community and the wider world due to the Armstrong affair, such moves are extremely damaging to the wider trust in your organisation. Additionally to this, this looks to be the most extreme example of legislative change to support the incumbent president, who may struggle to gain re-election otherwise.
In short, this is a farce of democracy for the UCI, and does nothing but further damage the already ruined image of the UCI in the wider world, while doing nothing more than supporting an incumbent president to the detriment of everything else. These are the actions of an autocrat, rather than anyone who respects the democratic traditions and conventions of the UCI.
I hope that, as members of the national conventions who understand that the UCI needs to re-build it's support, you will vote against this measure when it is offered for debate in September.
Yours Sincerely..."
Let's see if we can make something happen.
Do you not think that the timing of the Malaysian Federation's actions is not an unfortunate coincidence, but just a demonstration that they are every bit as bent as Pat?
Absolutely, yes.....
.... but if I write that without evidence that's libel. This is the best I can do without being libelous because it talks of suspicions rather than just saying 'you're totally bent'.
It will probably get ignored, but if there is enough of an outcry maybe those who have been corrupted will become more scared of the people writing to them rather than Pat Mcquaid.
Let's give it a go, eh? I'm tired of sitting on the sidelines and watching this car wreck.
Well I don't suppose it will hurt, but any success is still dependent on them giving a damn.
Incidentally, the statement "This shows the Malaysian Federation are just as bent as Pat" is not libellous, being "Fair comment" i.e. a conclusion a reasonable person could reach. (Note the word "could").
Anyone but McQuaid, seriously
Really should have just gone the whole hog with the headline. The Empire Strikes Back: Darth McQuaid says...etc!
Pat McQualude... time for you to go...
If McQuaid does get to stand in the election, what are his chances of actually winning? Presumably he has at least 5 votes (Malaysia, Morocco, Thailand etc). How many more does he need?
It seems more patently clear that this man should be removed the more desperately he clings to power.
His Burlesconi attempts to wrest power for himself are as corrupt as a two-headed coin. Cycling and sport are not benefitting from his time in power. If he wins this time, when will he lose?
Anyone for a Revolution?
McQuaid said: “... I have received enormous support from federations around the world urging me to stand for re-election and expressing their hope that I will continue on as UCI President. These nominations are a testament to that."
I shudder if this really is the case
Indeed. His proposed gerrymandering suggests that he's not too confident about his Swiss nomination either.
Do we think Pat reads this?
If so, here's a question for him:
What the hell are you so scared of that you will go to such lengths to ensure your re-election?
So Pat claims to be a member of the Irish, Swiss, Moroccan, Malaysian, and Thai Cycling Federations. Why has he not mentioned this until now, and when were the nominations from Morocco and Thailand actually made?
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