Reforming the UCI

[johnr]

These are the management committee who will, presumably, be at the extrodinary meeting to determine the radical new programme for addressing ther current crisis:
President
Mr Pat McQUAID
IRL



Vice-Presidents
Mr Hee Wook CHO
KOR

Mr Renato DI ROCCO
ITA

Mr Artur LOPES
POR

Members

Mr Mohamed Wagih AZZAM​

EGY

Mr Daniel BAAL​

FRA

Mr José Manuel PELAEZ​

CUB

Mr Mike TURTUR ​

AUS

Mr Sheikh Faisal Bin Humaid AL QASSIMI ​

UAE

Mr Brian COOKSON
GBR

Mr David LAPPARTIENT FRA

Mr Mohamed Jamel LOUAFI
TUN

Mr Igor Viktorovich MAKAROV RUS

Mr Peder PEDERSEN
DEN

Mr Mike PLANT
USA

Honorary President
Mr Hein VERBRUGGEN
NED

Honorary Vice-presidents
Mr Ray GODKIN
AUS

Mr Vladimir HOLECEK
CZE

Mr Agostino OMINI
ITA


Thom will shortly give us all the low down on their palmares

 

[rich p]

You have to snigger at Hein Verbruggen - NED!

 

[thom]

President
Mr Pat McQUAID : IRL, raced 66-82, born 1949
Irish National road champion 1974, won Tour of Ireland 1975 & 1976
Disallowed from 1976 Olympics for racing in S Africa on a false name

Vice-Presidents
Mr Hee Wook CHO : KOR, no sporting record, born 1946

Mr Renato DI ROCCO : ITA, likes cycling and skiing, born 1946

Mr Artur LOPES : POR, likes handball and fencing, born 1946
Surgeon

Members

Mr Mohamed Wagih AZZAM : EGY, doesn't like cycling, born before time began
CAC President

Mr Daniel BAAL : FRA, amateur track cyclist, born 1957
previously part of ASO. now president of mtb section of UCI
Banker

Mr José Manuel PELAEZ : CUB (actually a peruvian actor)

Mr Mike TURTUR : AUS track cyclist, born 1958
1984 Gold in Olympic Team Pursuit
LA issues re Tour Down Under

Mr Sheikh Faisal Bin Humaid AL QASSIMI : UAE, no sporting record, born 1960

Mr Brian COOKSON : GBR, amateur road/track/cross cyclist, etape du tour 2009, born 1951
Architect, OBE, President of British Cycling since 1996

Mr David LAPPARTIENT : FRA, who knows ?
President of FFC

Mr Mohamed Jamel LOUAFI : TUN, who knows ?

Mr Igor Viktorovich MAKAROV : RUS, , born 1962
Part of USSR national cycling team, champion, winner
Rusian businessman, Chairman of Itera Oil and gas company, President of FCSR

Mr Peder PEDERSEN : DEN, born 1945
International track cyclist, sprint gold medal Track World Champ 1974, 1975

Mr Mike PLANT : USA, born 1959
Speed Skater for US in 1980 Olympics and 6 times World Championships
His wife is a gold medal olympic swimmer

Honorary President
Mr Hein VERBRUGGEN : NED, likes running and cycling, born 1941
Mars Inc sales manager, 1975 started working in Royal Dutch cycling federation, been involved in similar ever since

Honorary Vice-presidents
Mr Ray GODKIN : AUS, likes cycling, squash and spear fishing, born 1934
Police Motor Manslaughter unit from 1959-89,

Mr Vladimir HOLECEK : CZE, international track cyclist, 1959-62, born 1936
1959-1995 worked for a Czech ship building company

Mr Agostino OMINI : ITA, (no personal sporting record), born 1926
Worked in Italian cycling since 1950

Clearly there's a lot more to what these guys did than i put here but i'm only so bored while awaiting the Obama-Romney debate... ;-)

 

[thom]

Robert Millar writes about the UCI. They did the bare minimum.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Pat McQuaid raced in South Africa whilst the sporting boycott was in place? Wow, okay - he's gone from being merely stupid and incompetent to being a full-on bastard in my book.

As for the rest of them, there is barely an ex-professional cyclist amongst the lot and rather too many who have no more qualifications than any of us to be running the sport, in fact, in some cases, considerably less.

 

[Scoosh]

This is good from Robert Millar :

What the UCI have done during the EPO era has been far from enough, they have let down a generation of fans, riders, sponsors and supporters. They and the people behind the 50% farce have been lucky that there weren't deaths. The UCI have been dragged forward by one scandal after another and now the social media generation has cried enough. It's no longer a carefully selected group of people asking if they think it was alright for Armstrong to be invited to respond to a dubious test result. It's all of us shouting: What ? And you took donations from him afterwards? And you thought that was OK? And maybe he asked how you reached those results and you thought he was being helpful? And it's still a 50% limit today despite the evidence that it isn't normal?

 

[thom]

Apparently Jonathan Vaughters is plotting with the team bosses - they want an independent investigation into the UCI's anti-doping record over the past 10 years.

 

[Scoosh]

Now that could be interesting !!!

Oh, hang on - did you mean doping or anti-doping record ??

 

[Noodley]

I'm surprised there is even one.

C'mon FM, you've surely heard of Hymen Verbruggen

 

[thom]

Now that could be interesting !!!

Oh, hang on - did you mean doping or anti-doping record ??

I did have to correct my original wording on that point

Edit : more comment

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Apparently Jonathan Vaughters is plotting with the team bosses - they want an independent investigation into the UCI's anti-doping record over the past 10 years.

This would be good. In fact, Vaughters running the UCI would be good.

 

[tigger]

I did have to correct my original wording on that point

Edit : more comment

This is good to hear, the teams, individuals and fans need to start taking a lead to clean up the sport. These comments seemed very measured by Vaughters too. He wasn't seemingly criticising the UCI, but rather stating that drug controls per se may not be effective enough? At least that how I read it. A blue Sky approach.

I read this blog the other day which has been posted here before. Now I'm no fan of the UCI but I have wandered, test results aside, if they have made genuine strides towards combating the problem. If these stats are correct, then maybe we should be thankful we don't play tennis?

http://tennishasasteroidproblem.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/epic-fail-out-of-competition-testing-in.html

 

[johnr]

Knew you'd come up with the goods Thom, thanks.

The commission is a really good idea. I hope they press ahead with it regardless of the UCI, in fact, the best way for any commission to operate is completely independently. A debate and discussion about its terms of reference should be open to anyone with an interest in the sport. But then a panel of three-five respected individuals should be given the terms of reference and allowed to get on with it.

If budgets allow, they would probably benefit from the expert assistance of someone like Michael Ashenden. The commission would, I am sure, invite testimony and submissions from the UCI, the IOC, WADA, teams' and riders' representatives, other cycling organisations, fans and of course, Thom. Sessions could be open to the public, or private (to allow candid testimony from current or former participants in cycling shenanigans), or both. Their published report would, hopefully, be both a manifesto for change and a blueprint as to how that would be achieved. It would then fall to all parties to decide whether or not to implement it. And, of course, face the consequences of their actions or inactions.

The trouble with trying to get everyone on board at the start is that the haggling and wheeler-dealing goes on behind closed doors. And given the first-class hustlers who are the UCI, that would almost certainly lead to an insipid set of terms of reference and bland conclusions. What needs to be a forward thinking process, would have the sheet anchor of old vested interests and 'what we've always done'.

I would seek to recruit members from outside cycling, but with an interest in the sport. Traditionally, commissions tend to be chaired by judges or barristers, both for their inquisitorial abilities and ability to present clear and logical conclusions (what's Judge Sparks up to after his moment in our sun?). I'd look for a big name from the business world - someone like Alan Sugar - to bring knowledge of the cash issues. A journalist like Jon Snow would bring skills and kudos and a trade union leader, some muscle. I'm sure the rest of the world has similar high-profile individuals.

I hope a commission is established, and with a much wider remit than just doping. Clearly the future of women's cycling needs more than the UCI and issues like pay and pensions and cycling at the olympics are stagnant under the current regimes.

 

[tigger]

After a quick tally on both the ATP and WTA rankings it looks like there are approx 2800 pro tennis players. If the stats are correct then in 2010 there were just 2075 drugs tests in tennis.

In cycling there were over 13,500 in 2010. Do we know how many pro cyclists there are?

 

[Flying_Monkey]

I would seek to recruit members from outside cycling, but with an interest in the sport. Traditionally, commissions tend to be chaired by judges or barristers, both for their inquisitorial abilities and ability to present clear and logical conclusions (what's Judge Sparks up to after his moment in our sun?). I'd look for a big name from the business world - someone like Alan Sugar - to bring knowledge of the cash issues. A journalist like Jon Snow would bring skills and kudos and a trade union leader, some muscle. I'm sure the rest of the world has similar high-profile individuals.

Part of the problem right now is that the UCI already has very few people with any experience of professional cycling in its management, and you want even fewer in this committee?