Cookson’s first four tasks

1: Sort out problems with WADA

The UCI’s relationship with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) reached rock-bottom after the Lance Armstrong scandal. Brian Cookson needs to rebuild it, and he has promised to set up an independent anti-doping agency to deal with doping in cycling.

2: Lance the Armstrong boil

The Armstrong scandal has been hanging over cycling, with innuendo and suspicion still rife in the sport. What is needed is a truth and reconciliation process to wipe the slate clean and start afresh.

3: Bring in a radical change to the governance of UCI

The UCI election was a shambles in terms of good governance, but it did highlight what an arbitrary process it is. The rules are blurred at best and contrary to sports law at worst, with a lack of transparency over the function of the federation. No one even knows how much the president is paid.

4: Change the administration

Many of the paid officials at the UCI are tainted by their association with the past regimes, and appeared to be doing all they could to keep Pat McQuaid in power. Cookson needs to wield a powerful brush and sweep away the dead wood — starting from the top.