One month before the Irish federation Cycling Ireland was due to hold an extraordinary general meeting on the matter, UCI president Pat McQuaid has jumped the gun and secured nomination from Swiss Cycling.
The Irishman, who was nominated twice before by Cycling Ireland but was told on April 26th that the decision about his backing would be put to the federation’s members, has sought and now received nomination an alternative route.
Swiss Cycling today announced that it would endorse McQuaid for re-election, meaning that he is now in a position to go forward to the UCI congress meeting in September and seek a third term. Thus far no challengers have emerged, although over one month remains for them to do so.
According to a communication from Swiss Cycling, it was unanimously decided at a special committee meeting on Monday that he would be nominated.
“After having read the letter and the request of Pat McQuaid, President of the UCI and a member of our federation, the Directing Committee decided to accept his candidature request via Swiss Cycling and to present him to the next presidential election of UCI.
“In effect, the Steering Committee of Swiss Cycling found it just, democratic and in perfect keeping with the philosophy of the Swiss federation to give the incumbent President the choice and opportunity to present himself again before the Meeting of the delegates at the next Congress the UCI for a possible re-election.”
The development means that McQuaid avoids a potentially embarrassing no vote from the membership of Cycling Ireland, which were due to meet and deliberate the matter on June 15th.
McQuaid has, predictably, welcomed today’s news. “I am delighted that the board of Swiss Cycling has endorsed my nomination. I put myself forward to serve another term as UCI President on my record of developing the sport throughout the world and on combating the scourge of doping in cycling.
McQuaid said that he had an ‘ambitious agenda’ to keep developing the sport, and that he was looking forward to presenting himself for re-election before the UCI’s member federations.
McQuaid moved to Switzerland in 2005 but this is the first time he has drawn on the Swiss federation to nominate him.
“It has become clear that my nomination in Ireland has been politicised by a small group of people,” he said, justifying his reasons for sidestepping the EGM process. “However, I have received a wealth of letters from national federations all around the world urging me to stand for President again and I strongly believe that it should be for our national federations around the world to decide democratically on their next president.”