For anyone who cares about how cycling as a sport is mananged, this is well worth a read and hopefully you'll forward it on to get as many interested people as possible.
It's pretty clear that the UCI's current management intend to try and just keep their heads down and weather the Lance doping-storm that's currently hitting. Let's make it clear that we want them out.
Just posted this and then saw you had also done so! Can you believe how this is developing - I think the pressure is going to become too great for McQuaid and he'll have to go. Verbruggen also. Have already donated to Kimmage - wonder how big his defence fund will grow to?
I really hope that things do change. They certainly won't with the current leadership who are just interested in themselves and hiding the past.
Having watched the press conference live earlier in the week it was fairly clear that all that the UCI care about is the UCI.
If McQuaid stays I think sponsors will continue to walk away from cycling as confidence ebbs further in any determination to ensure it stays clean.
I do also wonder if there are other sports where there are similar levels of drug taking but insufficiently robust testing policies in place to catch it.
What is with this culture of sacking folk at the slightest whiff of controversy? Like people calling for George Entwistle yo go after 4 weeks in his job. I don't like Pat Macquaid one bit but the worst of the doping didn't happen on his watch.
Why not give people a chance to learn from an error then try and sort it out?
I am in two minds about this,
On the one hand there has been blatant collusion in covering up the sins of the past, and it does appear that LA was given a special pass to carry on as he wanted, probably to allow access for the UCI to a perceived lucrative American market.
On the other hand, this is coming out now because the UCI have actually taken steps to deal with the problem, they have signed up to WADA they were pioneers in introducing the biological passport, and do seem to be making at least some effort to tackle the problem. Few other sports are doing any where near as much.
[i]sacking folk at the slightest whiff of controversy...the worst of the doping didn't happen on his watch.
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no, but he's sued (and continues to in Kimmages case) anyone who suggested that any doping at all has happened on his watch, refused to co-operate with the USADA investigation and has done his level best to avoid any sort of openess at UCI on this matter (and others).
[edit]
[i] this is coming out now because the UCI have actually taken steps to deal with the problem[/i]
It's not UCI that did this it's USADA. UCI have had to accept the result or look even more obstructive.
I do also wonder if there are other sports where there are similar levels of drug taking but insufficiently robust testing policies in place to catch it.
Wasn't there a documentary recently about the huge number of failed drug tests in football and how nothing was done about them and they were pretty much covered up?
Of course there are other sports where it's a hidden issue. I don't do those sport so I'm not so fussed about them. I want cycling cleaned up.
McQuaid is the loyal lieutentant of Hein Verbruggen who very definatly was in charge during the Lance years and remians honorary president of the UCI.
McQuaid was President of the UCI Road Commission (1998-2005). It happened on his watch and like blazers everywhere all he really wants to do is cover his own back.
Time to wind up the UCI and start again.
I'm a football fan and see no reason it wouldn't absolutely be ridden with PEDs
Back to the topic, this is about as far from knee jerk calls for a sacking based on a single event as it could be. This institutional failure is over a decade old
If there was any chance McQuid could learn a thing, then it might be a fair point, but this week shows that to be (still) an impossible ask
If the whole LA thing results in Pat & Hein resigning and never being involved with pro cycling again then LA will have done far more good than harm to the sport.
Calls for Pat's head aren't just down to his botched handling of the LA saga but for the years of cover ups, collusion and corruption (allegedly...). Lets hope he's not as good at covering his ass as Sepp Blatter is...
Maybe Trek will take Greg back.... after booting him for daring to question Lance.
Hasn't the UCI taken a defensive stance w/r to USADA and their allegations? I think they've only complied because LA has not answered to the allegations or gone to arbitration which left the UCI with little choice but to strip LA of his titles.
If Kimmage wins in court could it over-turn McQuaid and Verbruggen's case victory against Landis for the effectively the same defamatory statements? Mmmmmmmm.....
Johan Bruyneel has opted for arbitration which could be very interesting.
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If Kimmage wins in court could it over-turn McQuaid and Verbruggen's case victory against Landis for the effectively the same defamatory statements? Mmmmmmmm.....
I think Kimmage has been a bit more restrained in his complaints. No mention of Gadaffi or terrorists as far as I'm aware.
That LeMond article is priceless...
Reading between the lines, they've not sued Lemond for comments he's made previously (as he alludes to in the recent statement) which are IMO much stronger than those made by Landis or Kimmage. I reckon that with Kimmage being out of work, they figured they'd get some payback, not accounting for public feeling and the amount of cash that'd get donated.
I really hope that they're made to look stupid in court but I have a feeling that because they've brought the action, they'll be able to limit the action and how much gets disclosed - unless of course, Kimmage's team gets to cross examine HV and PMcQ but I've no idea if that's how it all works.