Pat McQuaid has failed to secure a nomination from Cycling Ireland to run for a third term as president of the UCI, with an EGM of the association's members voting in Dublin this afternoon against nominating here.
Pat McQuaid has suffered a major set-back in his campaign to retain his presidency of the UCI, with his own cycling community today voting against nominating him to run for election.
At an EGM on the matter held by Cycling Ireland in Dublin this afternoon, some 188 delegates from 60 clubs gathered to debate whether they would nominate the Irishman.
After a debate of around an hour, which was not quite as heated as many of those gathered had expected, those present voted 74 votes in favour of nominating McQuaid to contest the presidential election and 91 against, with 23 votes not cast.
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The margin of 17 votes looks tight, but the contest was perhaps a little clearer cut than the figures suggest.
While the clubs gathered at the Red Cow Inn off the M50 had between two and seven votes each to cast depending on how big they are, the various commissions that make up Cycling Ireland and the board members also had 32 votes to cast between them.
Most of the commissions and board members, though not all, voted in favour of McQuaid. That trend mirrored Cycling Ireland’s supportive stance of his proposed candidacy although the federation did not attempt to tell them how to vote. It means when those figures are stripped from the ‘yes’ vote, the clubs and members appear to have voted much more conclusively against him than the result suggests.
The EGM was called two months ago after an administrative error by the federation. When its board met in April it voted to nominate McQuaid to contest the election. However, the one board member to vote against the nomination was Anto Moran. He subsequently resigned his post, but not before lodging a complaint that the board meeting that backed McQuaid had not been chaired in accordance with the association’s rules.
This objection was upheld and the meeting and McQuaid’s nomination became void. When the board met two weeks later to reconsider the matter, such had been the backlash against the nomination that the board decided to put the matter to an EGM.
McQuaid’s efforts to get a third term in office when the election falls in September have not been derailed, but today’s verdict is very embarrassing for him and arguably weakens his campaign. McQuaid appears to have secured a nomination from Swiss Cycling to run. Because he is resident in Switzerland, from where he runs the UCI, the Swiss governing body can nominate him.
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There appears to have emerged differences within the board of Swiss Cycling as to whether it has actually nominated him. And while the federation in May released a statement saying it had indeed nominated him, there is also now a legal challenge to that.
Even if McQuaid goes forward to contest the election in September on the basis of the Swiss backing him, the fact members of his home federation have rejected his request for a nomination is a real blow; sustained in public with the federations that will ultimately decide who is UCI president all looking on.
He is also now faced with contesting the election against Brian Cookson, the president of British Cycling and current UCI management committee member.
Cookson is regarded as having been a key figure in transforming British Cycling from a near-bankrupt minnow of the sport into arguably the best federation in the world. He is a serious candidate that McQuaid must overcome, assuming the Irishman secures the Swiss nomination.
However, Cookson’s recent media performances have been lack lustre and facing a forceful personality like McQuaid, the battle between the two men could not be called at this stage.
The management commission of the UCI appears to have become divided, with international reports suggesting their meetings in Norway in recent days have been heated; another factor which has fed into the apparent growing momentum against McQuaid contesting and winning a third four-year term in office.
The 62-year-old former international bike rider and race promoter is a very experienced operator and is unlikely to go down without a fight. He was not present at today’s meeting but his son Andrew and brothers Darach and Kieron were present.
They did not address the meeting and it appeared they did not have voting rights.
We’ll have more later.
