McQuaid confident inquiry would clear all parties of wrong-doing

IRISHMAN Pat McQuaid is confident any inquiry into his relationship with the International Cycling Union (UCI) will clear all parties of wrong-doing.

McQuaid is the favoured candidate for the presidency of the UCI, having received the backing of incumbent Hein Verbruggen.

However, he is the subject of a complaint from UCI management committee member Sylvia Schenk who has accused the former PE teacher of receiving payments from world cycling’s governing body which are in contravention of its constitution.

Schenk has written to the International Olympic Committee’s ethics committee and says she is ready to take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if necessary.

McQuaid - also a UCI management committee member - insists the payments are in return for expenses incurred in his work for the UCI and are not, as Schenk alleges, evidence he has a contract with the union.

“They are permitted, yes,” McQuaid told cyclingnews.com. “There is no clash with the constitution.”

His election victory over Malaysia’s Darshan Singh and Spaniard Gregorio Moreno is all but assured given his excellent contacts within the sport.

The Irishman has been living in Switzerland, close to the UCI’s Aigle headquarters for most of this year, but Schenk claims the UCI have financed the move.

“In his letters, he [Hein Verbruggen] says that the payments made to McQuaid are merely expenses allowances and have no contractual foundation,” Schenk said.

“But this is still questionable. It is hard to believe that McQuaid left his country for Switzerland without some sort of security of a contract, especially as his whole living must be paid for.”

However, McQuaid denies the UCI are financially backing his election.

He said: “The work that I’m doing in the UCI offices at the moment is absolutely nothing to do with my campaign. It is completely separate to that. So I don’t think there is really any cause for concern there.

“I am quite comfortable with any of the investigations and appeals that are going on, and confident that things will go in the favour of the UCI board.”