UCI President Pat McQuaid has been denied backing from Cycling Ireland’s clubs in his request for nomination for a third term, being defeated 91 to 74 in a vote taken at an extraordinary general meeting today.
The Dubliner, who has been in charge of the international governing body for the past eight years was facing a vote after the Cycling Ireland board accepted the request from multiple members to put the matter to an EGM.
In an hour long meeting, a range of people spoke passionately for and against the nomination. These included members of Cycling Ireland’s board, but also club members. The EGM then went to a vote amongst the delegates, who expressed their decision to the federation.
The outcome is a blow to McQuaid, who is facing a fight to secure backing for re-election and also is being opposed by Brian Cookson, a member of the UCI’s management committee. The presidential election will take place at the UCI congress during the world road championships in September.
McQuaid was originally nominated 5-1 by Cycling Ireland on April 12th, securing the endorsement of a national federation that he required in order to be able to run for re-election. However the one board member who voted against McQuaid, Anto Moran, later realised that correct procedures had not been followed.
The issue was that a portion of the meeting was chaired by a non-board member, contrary to Article 42 in Cycing Ireland’s Memorandum and Articles.
CI’s board met again on April 26th. It could simply have held the vote again, reaffirming its support for McQuaid, but instead bowed to pressure and said that it would put the matter to an EGM.
McQuaid then sought to sidestep this process, joining a Swiss cycling club and requesting a nomination instead from Swiss Cycling. His interpretation of the UCI regulations was that he was entitled to do so as he is a resident of Switzerland, although a legal challenge has since been launched by three members of that federation.
One argument in that case is that McQuaid cannot be a member of two federations at once, although the UCI argues that having two licences is what is not permitted, rather than two memberships.
That case has raised uncertainty about the Swiss nomination, and there have also been suggestions that the board’s backing was not unanimous, as was claimed by Swiss Cycling’s press release. Three board members reportedly sought a meeting on the issue with a possible view to rescinding the nomination, although this meeting ultimately did not go ahead.
McQuaid will now hope that Swiss Cycling’s backing will indeed hold until the elections, but there is increasing uncertainty about his chances of taking a third term.
More later on this story…