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Pat McQuaid secures nomination of Swiss Cycling to stand for third term as UCI President

Cycling Ireland EGM next month which was to reconsider whether to back McQuaid rendered academic

UCI president Pat McQuaid has rendered academic the prospect that Cycling Ireland will refuse to nominate him for a third term as UCI president by securing a nomination from the Swiss national federation instead.

Cycling Ireland last month nominated McQuaid to stand for a third time, a move that resulted in the resignation of its vice president Anto Moran and led to a Emergency General Meeting being convened for 15 June following outcry for many of its members.

The initial endrosement of McQuaid also attracted critcism in the press both in Ireland and abroad, with columnist Eamonn Sweeney of the Irish Independent congratuling Cycling Ireland's board on having managed to obtain mentions in headlines around the world, adding "It's just a shame you had to drag the sporting good name of the country through the shit to get them."

The national governing body subsequently withdrew its nomination pending that EGM, at which it was expected the vote would go against endorsing McQuaid, who has attracted heavy criticism in Ireland and abroad for issues including the decision to scrap the independent commission that the UCI set up to examine its own role in the Lance Armstrong scandal, to stand again as UCI president.

Around 850 people representing 300 member clubs are eligible to vote at the EGM, although only those actually present would be entitled to cast a vote, and opponents of McQuaid’s nomination had been mobilising themselves, including reportedly preparing a dossier outlining the case against him which was to have been circulated to those attending.

Under UCI rules, a person can be nominated as president not only by their own national federation, but also that of their country of residence – in McQuaid’s case, Switzerland, where the UCI is based.

The announcement that he had circumvented the potential embarrassment of that vote going against him by securing the nomination of Swiss Cycling was made this morning in a press release from the UCI itself.

In it, McQuaid said: “I am delighted that the board of Swiss Cycling has endorsed my nomination.

“I put myself forward to serve another term as UCI President on my record of developing the sport throughout the world and on combating the scourge of doping in cycling.

“I have an ambitious agenda to continue developing the sport. I look forward to presenting myself for election with the support of Swiss Cycling and other federations worldwide.

“I took up residency in Switzerland in 2005 when I assumed the role of UCI President and I have had a long association with Swiss Cycling.

“It has become clear that my nomination in Ireland has been politicised by a small group of people. However, I have received a wealth of letters from national federations all around the world urging me to stand for President again and I strongly believe that it should be for our national federations around the world to decide democratically on their next president.”

That “small group of people,” as McQuaid put it, appears to include a sizeable proportion of the rank and file members of Cycling Ireland.

Had the EGM vote not backed his candidacy, he would have had a week to secure the Swiss nomination before the 23 June deadline.

The fact that he has gone public now with news that Swiss Cycling has backed him not only renders that EGM, and the potential embarrassment it may have caused, null and void, but will also be interpreted in some quarters as a snub to the national federation, and its members, who helped put him into the top job in world cycling to begin with.

To date, no rival candidate has stepped forward to formally challenge McQuaid's re-election, with voting taking place at the UCI World Congress in September.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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20 comments

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skippy | 10 years ago
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Those of YOU that wish to see the back of phat the rat should visit Tourdafarce.blogspot.com for the eemail address of Michael D. Higgins , President of Ireland , whom i have emailed to add his Office to the Nomination situation !
phat will perhaps ignore advice from that Office , but will HIS family , choose to suffer , from his ignorance of the fact , that he draws the UCI Salary , to protect the constitution of the UCI ?

Cycling Ireland OWES their members the RIGHT TO VOTE on the Nomination , which UNDER UCI RULES can ONLY come from the Irish Federation ! In October C.I. should call phat the rat to account , and then strip him of ANY & ALL priveleges previously awarded then turn him adrift into the wilderness of uncertainty that he has earned by spurning and denigrating his country of Origin !

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The Rumpo Kid | 10 years ago
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(We all knew this was coming)... The UCI have said that as he is a member of the Swiss Cycling Federation, there is nothing that breaks UCI rules in Pat's nomination. Read the full nauseating story at velonation.

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dullard | 10 years ago
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Decster - excellent research. Have you alerted Cycling Ireland and Anto Moran to this welcome trapdoor?

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Bob's Bikes replied to dullard | 10 years ago
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dullard wrote:

Decster - excellent research. Have you alerted Cycling Ireland and Anto Moran to this welcome trapdoor?

+1

Lets hope that this research is put to good use and we see the back of this "person" and eventually (hopefully) clean the sport up from the top down

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Decster | 10 years ago
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McQuaid's latest nomination could yet hit a snag. Under article 51 of the UCI constitution, the candidates for the presidency "shall be nominated by the federation of the candidate".

As a former president of Cycling Ireland, McQuaid holds an honorary lifetime Cycling Ireland licence and it was confirmed by Cycling Ireland yesterday that he has an Irish licence for 2013.

Even though he has lived near UCI headquarters in Switzerland since 2005, under UCI rule number 1.1008, the licence holder "shall remain affiliated to that (Irish) federation until the expiry of the licence, even if he changes country of residence".

Under UCI rule number 1.1009 "a licence holder may hold the licence of only one national federation", so McQuaid cannot hold a Swiss licence and therefore yesterday's nomination by the Swiss federation could yet be deemed invalid.

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kitkat replied to Decster | 10 years ago
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Great find Decster  1 no doubt the UCI will handily ignore its own rules much like Armstrong in the tour down under however it does give the masses further reason to distrust the UCI and their total lack of respect for the sport they are supposed to manage.

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Sudor | 10 years ago
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That's the pension pot sorted then

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Decster | 10 years ago
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With no change at the head of the sport, why do people believe it is cleaner?

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Leviathan | 10 years ago
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Nazi gold hoarding finks!

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antonio | 10 years ago
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So this is progress??

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lookmanohands | 10 years ago
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 20

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edster99 | 10 years ago
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 2

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notfastenough | 10 years ago
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It's like playing whack-a-mole.

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sorebones | 10 years ago
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As if we didn't already know it, conclusive proof that the man has no shame whatsoever

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alotronic | 10 years ago
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 41 Well done Pat for fighting the culture of doping. I feel so relieved that you are going to get to continue your hard fight.

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jollygoodvelo | 10 years ago
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Heard the discussion of the Cycling Ireland moves on the "Week in Cycling History" podcast. Very interesting...

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Rupert49 | 10 years ago
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So, no chance of the Old Guard leaving then!

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Sadly Biggins | 10 years ago
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Did Pat mean a “small group of people” or “a group of small people”? I know which I'd put my money on.

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Al__S | 10 years ago
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Will Cycling Ireland go through with the EGM anway, in order to fully voice the rank and file disapproval?

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SevenHills replied to Al__S | 10 years ago
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Al__S wrote:

Will Cycling Ireland go through with the EGM anway, in order to fully voice the rank and file disapproval?

They bloody well ought to if not only to show that they are distancing themselves from McQuaid but to also potentially shake up the archaic processes of the UCI in establishing it's presidency.

All the international governing sporting bodies need a good kick up the arse in getting rid of the jobs for the boys culture that exists rather than picking the best person for the sport that they represent. A certain Mr Blatter also comes to mind.

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