McQuaid must now turn to Swiss

Cycling Ireland President Rory Wyley has admitted he had a feeling Saturday’s outcome of the EGM was coming, given the groundswell of opposition against current UCI President Pat McQuaid in recent months.

McQuaid was seeking a nomination from his home federation to run for the UCI presidency in September — but failed to secure that, after a motion was defeated by 91 votes to 74.

And Wyley, who has always supported McQuaid, said that while he rued the decision not to back him, it was not unexpected.

“I knew over the past week or two the gap was closing,” lamented Wyley. “From my point of view it didn’t close enough,” he said.

But it could have all been so different had just a tiny fraction of McQuaid’s followers come out in support of him.

There were 252 clubs registered with Cycling Ireland to vote and just 60 turned up, meaning a huge number of votes went untapped.

With clubs of between six and 20 members having two votes, even mobilising nine of those would have swung it McQuaid’s way. Clubs with between 21 and 50 members had three votes and others with between 51 and 100 members had four votes.

Generating the support of just five of those in the 51 to 100 member category would have carried the day for him.

While McQuaid did have plenty support, newer members of the cycling community appeared well versed on the Lance Armstrong affair and judging by comments made in the debate, they believed the UCI had not done enough to fight the doping issue generally.

One of those who voted against McQuaid, and was seen as key to having Saturday’s EGM take place at all, was former Cycling Ireland vice-president Anto Moran.

“I’d say there are a few people who see me as a traitor,” said the Dubliner. “Some of my friends are pro-McQuaid and I know they’re not happy with me, but hopefully in time that’ll change.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a huge issue. On an international level this is extremely important but at a local level we have other issues, like the police trying to stop us running races in North County Dublin at the moment. These are real issues which affect most grassroots cyclists and they are the things Cycling Ireland has to address now.”

While McQuaid has now lost the support of his home nation, Moran reckons the current head of the sport will receive a nomination from Swiss Cycling, despite a legal challenge to that process.

“There was a certain degree of apathy because of what the Swiss have done... that took the wind out of our sails a bit and there would’ve been a lot more clubs represented had this been his only nomination,” said Moran.

One man who perhaps summed up the ‘generation gap’ in the sport at present, domestically, was well known Cycling Ireland member Tadhg Moriarty of the Listowel club. Moriarty runs the annual Kerry Group Rás Mumhan and has been involved in the sport all his life.

“Everybody in this room brought cycling in Ireland to where it is today, young or old,” he said.

“Some of us are around longer than others.

“There was a time that I knew everybody in Irish cycling. I must say I knew less than half the people here today. I knew very few of the people that voted against McQuaid. I knew all of the people that voted for McQuaid, so there must be a message there somewhere.

“Maybe the older brigade are after getting a small push here today and it’s time to let the younger ones take over.”