McQuaid seeks Irish approval
McQuaid is seeking a nomination for reelection for a third term in office, commencing in September.
He needs a nomination from a national federation and will seek that this morning from Cycling Ireland, where its members will gather at the Red Cow Moran Hotel in Dublin (11am) for an emergency general meeting.
Despite mounting speculation McQuaid won’t be nominated by the Irish federation, Roche believes he should be, based on his reputation.
“Pat and the UCI have done great things for our sport despite all the problems that cycling has had to deal with in the past 10 years,” said the 1987 Tour de France winner yesterday.
“No other sport has had as much negative publicity as cycling and I’m sure that many a ‘strong president’ would have jumped ship and left the cleaning up to someone else.
“Pat has been a strong leader and has succeeded in not just tackling the everyday issues — the exceptional issues in cycling, but he has also been responsible for the huge development worldwide of our sport. I sincerely believe that Cycling Ireland should nominate Pat for the UCI presidency because he has the passion, ability and conviction to continue to grow and develop our sport and also continue to tackle all other issues with honesty and determination.”
Kelly also believes McQuaid has been unfairly treated.
“I definitely think Pat McQuaid does not get enough credit for what he has done. It was a real difficult time for cycling. These were bad years for cycling and McQuaid has suffered because of that. But we must also remember the good things he has done. He has managed to improve the image of cycling in the last few years with the introduction of the biological passport. That has been working very well and I think the sport is better for it.”
McQuaid was originally backed by Cycling Ireland on April 12 but after the nomination was challenged by board member Anto Moran — who contested the meeting hadn’t taken place according to the rules — the nomination was declared void.
Then, under intense pressure from member clubs, that nomination was rescinded and today’s EGM was called. But in the meantime, McQuaid sought a nomination from the country he resides in, Switzerland.
However, that avenue hit a rock last week following news that two pressure groups intimated they were exploring legal avenues to prevent the Irishman seeking a nomination from the Swiss federation.
Last night McQuaid branded that move a “shameless and confected PR stunt”. He also played down the significance of today’s meeting.
“I have been heartened that so many clubs and friends in Irish cycling have been galvanised into supporting me by the attempts of people outside Irish cycling to discredit me and to negatively influence Irish clubs,” said McQuaid.
“Whatever happens at the Cycling Ireland EGM, my nomination by Swiss Cycling will stand,” he said. “Any suggestion that my nomination does not comply fully with the UCI rules is untrue, deliberately misleading and disingenuous. The rules have been followed to the letter. The latest challenge to my Swiss nomination is completely baseless — it is just one more shameless and confected PR stunt,” blasted McQuaid.
However, the fact McQuaid’s Swiss nomination may yet be legally challenged puts the spotlight very much on today’s meeting because nominations for the presidency cannot be submitted less than 90 days from the election itself, which takes place the last week of September at the World Championships in Florence.
