Fabrizio Giovannozzi/AP
Brian Cookson of Britain poses for photographers after being elected president of the UCI Friday.
Brian Cookson of Britain was elected to lead cycling’s international governing body Friday, trouncing seven-year incumbent Pat McQuaid, whose legacy will be his steadfast tolerance of Lance Armstrong’s egregious doping and all the corruption that came with it.
McQuaid was seen by many in cycling as a puppet of his predecessor, Dutch Olympic official Hein Verbruggen, and both men remained ardent supporters of Armstrong long after his deceit became obvious. They may yet have to answer for their inappropriate dealings with Armstrong and his backers amid one of the biggest frauds the sports world has ever seen.
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LAURENT REBOURS/AP
Ardent support of Lance Armstrong will be the legacy of outgoing president Pat McQuaid.
Delegates from cycling’s national federations voted 24-18 to replace McQuaid with Cookson as the president of the International Cycling Union, known by its French acronym UCI. The organization is based in Switzerland.
“My first priorities as president will be to make anti-doping procedures in cycling fully independent, sit together with key stakeholders in the sport and work with World Anti-Doping Agency to ensure a swift investigation into cycling’s doping culture,” Cookson said on his website.
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GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images
Lance Armstrong admits to doping his way to seven Tour de France victories.
Cookson’s campaign was backed by some of the leaders of the resilient anti-doping movement in cycling, including American team owner Jonathan Vaughters and three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond. The chief of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, Travis Tygart, issued a statement welcoming Cookson’s arrival at the top of the UCI.
“The outcome of the UCI election sends a powerful message that sport leaders who fail to fully protect the rights of clean athletes and the integrity of their sport will be held accountable,” Tygart said. “The UCI tried to obstruct our investigation into doping in cycling at every turn, and then after the release of our reasoned decision the previous leadership failed to take necessary and decisive action to fully clean up the sport.”
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Pat McQuaid remains supporter of Lance Armstrong long after his deceit became obvious.
Tygart was referring to USADA’s exhaustive 2012 report exposing the cheating that fueled Armstrong’s career. Armstrong was stripped of his Tour de France titles, but there has so far been no accounting for the McQuaid and Verbruggen, who reportedly accepted cash donations from Armstrong and communicated with him about anti-doping procedures that are supposed to remain anonymous.
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