UK clubs and organisers must keep working ever harder to preserve racing on the open road and stop it slowly slipping away – that is the view of Lancaster Grand Prix organiser and former UCI president Brian Cookson.

Changes introduced over the years have combined to make road racing far more expensive and onerous to promote than it once was, he points out, but it was a challenge that organisers and clubs need to rise to meet.

"We're going to have to keep working harder and harder to keep road racing as a thing in the way that we've experienced it in the past," Cookson told Cycling Weekly. "The highway conditions, traffic and people's expectations of what is acceptable in terms of disruption of their normal behaviour and their normal business, I think have changed immeasurably in the last 20 or 30 years."

With accredited marshal schemes and outriders from the National Escort Group and a police presence all costing money – as well as first raiders and insurance – putting on a big road race requires a serious spend. But with both individuals and companies still affected by a global cost-of-everything challenge, funding is harder to come by than ever, too. Cookson and the Lancaster Grand Prix organising committee of which he is the chair had to postpone last year's race for that very reason. This year, though, sustainable funding is in place and the race is back in the National Road Series for both men and women, and will run on July 12.

"If we want racing on the road to continue, we have to adopt new standards, we have to adapt, and we have to find funding sources to allow us to do it. Otherwise the future will be bleak…" Cookson said. "I think it's so true of so many things – if you want something to happen, you've got to make it happen. Don't leave it to other people. You know, get yourself organised into a group of people, get an organising committee.

He added: "We can all sit around moaning and whinging on social media about how things used to be and how things should be now, but they're not how they used to be. And if we want things to be different and better, we want our sport to survive, we've got to make it work and make it happen."

The full story of the return of the Lancaster GP to the National Road Series will feature in next Thursday's Cycling Weekly magazine (19 Feb).

Brian Cookson, a former president of both the UCI and British Cycling, says participating in a recent study into heart scarring could have saved his life after he experienced an "unusual episode" while training at the Manchester Velodrome last year.

The 74-year-old has remained an avid cyclist since retiring and has regularly competed at a variety of events - including in the Gran Fondo World Championships.

Despite not previously experiencing any heart problems, Cookson signed up to a British Heart Foundation [BHF] medical study investigating the impact of heart scarring on veteran male athletes after he saw the investigation advertised on a masters cycling Facebook page.

After a series of tests at the University of Leeds, he was fitted with a small loop recorder "about the size of a computer memory stick" which, as Cookson explained, he was incredibly grateful for during a track session at the National Cycling Centre just a few months later.

"I started feeling quite unwell," he told Cycling Weekly. "I came off [the track] and my Garmin said 'congratulations - new maximum heart rate of 238 bpm.' I thought 'ok, that’s not good', so I flicked across the screen and it was still showing that same reading and not going down.

"I sat down and eventually lied down as the first aiders came out and asked if I wanted them to call an ambulance. After about ten minutes or so everything went back to normal but I went straight home and emailed the people running the study to tell them what had happened."

Cookson says that concerns grew when he was then contacted by the researchers the following morning: "I received a call to say don’t do anything more strenuous than walking - we need to get you in here to fit you with an ICD [implantable cardioverter defibrillator] which will prevent you having anything more serious - what you’ve experienced is called Ventricular Tachycardia."

The condition he experienced is when an abnormally fast heartbeat means that blood is not being efficiently pumped around the body by the ventricles which can, in some cases, result in cardiac arrest.

"I’d describe the ICD I now have as being like a smart pacemaker," Cookson explained. "It will intervene if your heart was to stop in the middle of the night, it will give you a shock and restart it if you have some minor irregularities in rhythm and give you a tiny readjustment. Or if you had a heart attack it would give you defibrillation and quite a big shock.

"This is all down to incredible research that the British Heart Foundation has funded over the years and I feel incredibly grateful to have been given the opportunity to participate in that and hopefully help other people."

"I'm so grateful to have been part of this study. It might well have saved my life," he added. "Without it, I might have carried on pushing myself until something more serious happened."

The study carried out by the BHF found that almost half of the 106 participants had scarring in their hearts which raised the chance of them having an episode similar to that experienced by Cookson. Nevertheless, Dr Peter Swobada - the medic who led the study - said that the results "shouldn’t put people off" exercise completely.

"We can all benefit from being more active," he said. "This study is an important step towards helping people take part in sport as safely as possible."

Moving forwards, Cookson says that he is now considering giving up racing completely as a result of his experiences but will keep riding for fun and to improve his general fitness.

"I won one national title and it took me 50 odd years, so that’s enough now. I’d rather just keep riding to stay fit and have another 10, 20 or even more years of life. Who knows? Maybe when I get to 100 I’ll go for the hour record to mark that," he joked.

"What I do now is back off a little bit if I notice my heart rate touching around 150," he explained. "I can’t push it over my limit on the track or things like that as if that’s going to lead to a problem then the simplest thing to do is to just back off. Even though I have my ICD now, you don’t really want to get into that scenario when you’re going to need it to go to work.

"Of course it’s a good thing to keep training, keep active and keep moving as much as you can, but just don’t assume that it’s making you immortal or immune to problems. If there is ever something that you’re not sure about then just get it looked at and checked out because there are things that can be done to help."

The Lancaster Grand Prix will return in 2026, despite it being cancelled this season, the chair of its organising committee has said.

Speaking on Wednesday, Brian Cookson said that there is nobody to blame for the decision to cancel the race this summer and place the event on temporary hiatus.

The race was a stalwart of the British National Road Series, but it was announced on Tuesday that the event will not take place in July as planned. An array of issues were cited as the reasons behind the decision, including logistical difficulties and problems with funding and sponsorship.

In the same announcement, British Cycling revealed that the Tour of the Reservoir would return for 2025. The governing body has also previously committed to getting a south west round of the national road and circuit series up and running later this year.

"They have been very supportive of us, there's no criticism of British Cycling in any of this," Cookson said. "We have got ourselves stuck between a rock and a hard place on a couple of different issues. Looking at other dates is now very, very difficult as there are already events booked in the park. There's theatre in the park, there's weddings, there's all sorts of other stuff going on, so it will be very difficult for us to change the days."

"We don't exist in a vacuum," the former UCI president added. "We've got to respect the local community and their needs as well. But equally what we want to do is organise the best bike race that we possibly can and do it in a positive and sustainable way that builds for the future. It's a bit of a step back, it's a decision taken with a lot of reluctance, but we think it's the wisest thing to do in the circumstances.

"We're not at all giving up the ghost, we're not throwing our hands up and blaming other people, we've just hit something of a temporary hiatus."

Local authority uncertainty

Cookson also explained that a series of uncertainties regarding the structure of local authorities in the race’s home county of Lancashire meant that funding for the event was also unclear.

"Lancashire is in a particularly peculiar position, because there's a kind of restructuring in place, or about to be in place, that's still subject to a fair amount of debate and decisions," he said. "We don't know yet whether there's going to be one county authority with a mayor, or whether there's going to be some sort of three way split of three different local authorities, unitaries, or two level authorities. So that's all making the funding environment very, very complicated."

Cookson acknowledged that the decision to cancel the race would be frustrating for a number of stakeholders, but reiterated that it will come back stronger and in a position to thrive.

"The ambition and the intention is that we come back in 2026, on or about the same dates in July," he said. "We would then have a sportive on the Saturday with a start and finish in the park, and then the main two races on the Sunday. If we can do that then there's a better offer to the sponsors and there's a better outcome for the local authorities.

"We just ask people to understand and be patient and thank them for their support. We missed a year with the pandemic, but that's about it, and we've been going since the first one in 2019. We have found a pretty good permanent place in the calendar and stuck with that, so we will be back."

As a former president of the UCI and British Cycling, Brian Cookson is an important figure within the sport and is also himself a former racer. Cookson was awarded an OBE in the 2008 New Year’s Honours list for his services to cycling. He recently chatted to Cycling Weekly about his time in the sport and his love for his home roads of Lancashire. 

What got you into cycling and made you want to consider it as a potential career option?

Although as a 14 year old I was already quite keen on cycling, I was inspired to take it up properly and join a club when I read about Tom Simpson winning the World Pro Road Race Championship in 1965, at San Sebastian. 

That made me reconsider my teenage career plan to become a world-famous rock guitarist, and switch my ambition to becoming the next British World Road Champion. 

Alas both ambitions were ultimately thwarted by a lack of sufficient talent.

Did you have a particular cycling hero growing up? If so, who was it?

I think we were all dazzled by Tom Simpson at the time, and then devastated by his sad death. After that, Merckx of course was everyone’s hero. 

Gimondi and Adorni were such stylish riders too – I was lucky enough to meet Vittorio Adorni many times in later years, a real gentleman. Of course we never saw these guys on television in anything other than brief newsclips, we read about their exploits a week later in magazines, or a month later in Sporting Cyclist. 

Sometimes we’d see tattered copies of l’Equipe or Miroir du Cyclisme in the club room, with such dramatic images it was impossible not to be inspired. A different era, long before the internet and wall-to-wall cycling coverage.

What was the first race you watched? 

The first race I saw was actually a 3rd category and junior race on the Oakenclough circuit in Lancashire in early 1966. It was won by Don Parry of the Lune RCC who was National Junior Champion that year. 

Although I never really knew him at the time because he moved away from the area, he has subsequently become a good friend and is well known as a multiple winner of Masters Category Championships, and was also Chair of the LVRC/BMCR for many years.  

After that, most years in the 60s the Milk Race would finish in Blackpool, so we would ride out and see it either there or passing over the Trough of Bowland en route to the finish. Hard men like Les West, Arthur Metcalfe, Hugh Porter and Geoff Wiles, in a proper tough two week stage race.

What was your first bike?  

My first proper racing bike had a red and white Bob Jackson frame I bought off a clubmate. Reynolds 531 tubing of course. I built it up, as we did in those days, from a mixture of new and second-hand parts, with money scraped together from Christmas presents, paper round, and Saturday jobs. 

Universal brakes, plastic-bodied Simplex front and rear mechs, Milremo steel cottered cranks, soon replaced with a Williams alloy cotterless chainset, and eventually a reasonable pair of 32/40 spoked wheels with Fiamme rims, Clement tubs and Campag Gran Sport hubs. 

It had a Brooks Professional saddle but never really liked them, far too heavy, so I replaced it with a much more comfortable Unica-Nitor plastic saddle about half the weight. I had the frame re-sprayed a beautiful purple and yellow the next winter and wish I had kept it, but I soon shot up and needed a bigger one a year later.

What's the best place your career has taken you to? 

Well, living in Montreux, overlooking Lake Geneva, and working at the UCI World Cycling Centre as President (2013-2017) was pretty special. It’s also a great place to ride a bike. 

More broadly, it gave me the opportunity to travel to many parts of the world I would never have visited, see lots of events I would never have seen and to meet lots of people who also love bike racing in all its wonderful forms, and on as many occasions as possible to ride a few kilometres with them.

If you hadn't ended up working in cycling, what do you think you would have done? 

Cycling never was my job, not until I was elected as UCI President. All my roles in cycling up until that time, including 17 years as President of British Cycling (1996-2013) were honorary positions, alongside my day job. 

I was a Chartered Landscape Architect (hence my interest in trees) for the first half of my professional career, moving into broader urban regeneration and management as my career progressed. 

Alongside that, and bringing up my family, I organised lots of races, well over 100 days of racing in total over the years, including the Tour of Lancashire 4 Day, plus working for the local Division / Region, including managing teams. 

Oh yes, and becoming a UCI Commissaire, in which capacity I was a member of the Jury at the Barcelona Olympics and was trackside when Chris Boardman won the Gold Medal in the Pursuit.

What's your favourite memory from your time in the sport? 

Chris Boardman winning in Barcelona was the only time I’ve ever cried at a bike race. I was operating the lap board for his opponent – a dead simple job until you think that millions of people around the world are watching this historic occasion and you can’t make a mistake or you’ll never be able to show your face at a bike race again. 

The stress level was off the scale! When he won the race and did his laps of honour it was very emotional – the first British cycling Gold Medal in 72 years.

On a more personal note, my first road race win, as a junior on the hilly Dolphinholme circuit in Lancashire in 1969 is something I will never forget – the feeling of putting your arms in the air as you cross the line is something special. 

There weren’t many more for me, so it is still fixed there in my memory, and I still ride over that finish line a few times every year, over 50 years later. If no-one’s around, you might even catch me throwing my arms in the air!

Brian Cookson, the former UCI and British Cycling president has said that he feels the national governing body for cycling has been continually “damaged by outsiders” in what he describes as a “brain drain” and "hollowing out of the organisation" in recent years. 

In 2022, British Cycling endured an annus horribilis with a set of controversies that were capped by CEO Brian Facer stepping down-blighting the organisation and its work.

A temporary replacement was found for Facer in the form of Danielle Every. However Every swiftly announced she will move on from the role to pastures news rather than put her hat in the ring to take over longer term.  

Writing in a blog post on his website, Cookson said that he feels the problems with BC start at the highest level. Furthermore, he believes that the organisation's biggest issue is the lack of cycling knowledge among its senior leadership team. 

“The problem, in my view, starts at the top. The widespread view, which I share, is that British Cycling has been damaged by people who have been parachuted into the organisation with no real knowledge of, or commitment to, the sport and pastime, and have no empathy with the people who participate and make cycling happen,” Cookson said. 

“In my view, the continued “brain drain” and hollowing-out of the organisation since 2016 has been little short of disastrous, and the impact is clearly beginning to show, for instance in the dramatic fall in the number of cycling events scheduled for 2023, which I understand is 28% down on 2022, across all disciplines,” he added.  

In the biggest cutback that Cookson drew attention to, British Cycling announced in December that the calendar for the men’s and women’s National Road series, the highest standard of racing in the UK, will shrink to just four races this year, the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix, Lancaster Grand Prix, Ryedale Grasscrete Grand Prix and the Beaumont Trophy. 

The former president explained that the reduction in events across all cycling disciplines this year is causing “widespread demoralisation” among the volunteers that enable them to take place. 

'COMMITMENT IS SERIOUSLY FAILING'

He said: “These events are of course largely organised by volunteers in cycling clubs of all types around the country, and it is here where the demoralisation of those people and their commitment to British Cycling is most obviously and seriously failing.”

Cookson’s blog post marks the second public statement from the former president calling for the overhaul of British Cycling's leadership.

In November, in response to Facer leaving his position, Cookson told Cycling Weekly that current British Cycling chair Frank Slevin needed to “take responsibility” for the controversies that surrounded the organisation last year.

At the beginning of 2022, British Cycling sparked controversy by blocking trans riders from competing. In response to the backlash, it has since committed to a deadline of Spring 2023 to publish its new transgender inclusion policy.

As well as the issues around trans riders competing, it issued guidance in September saying cyclists should not ride their bikes on the day of the Queen’s funeral before swiftly u-turning.

The difficult year was then rounded off by British Cycling announcing an eight year partnership with oil and gas giant Shell.

A decision which was widely condemned by environmentalists. 

Cookson previously explained to Cycling Weekly that conversations with various people in cycling revealed to him that many are “unhappy with the way that British Cycling has been managed and governed” in recent years which was reflected in the membership.

“I do think that it seems inexplicable to me that the chairman and the board were unaware of the implications of the things that have happened and that have been so controversial,” he said. “I think that some heads have to roll."

When approached by Cycling Weekly, a spokesperson for British Cycling said they would not be issuing a response to Cookson's comments.

Former UCI and British Cycling president Brian Cookson has called for current British Cycling chair Frank Slevin to take responsibility for a series of controversies in 2022 and leave. 

Yesterday morning, British Cycling confirmed that CEO Brian Facer had left his position with immediate effect by “mutual agreement” with the board of directors. 

However, Cookson told Cycling Weekly that he feels Frank Slevin also needs to be held accountable for the governing body’s decision making. 

“The chair needs to take some responsibility for this. I have no confidence in him to continue, I think he should go,” he said. “Now we have a structure imposed on us by UK Sport and the reality is we have a chairman who has effectively come from outside the sport, presumably appointed for his business expertise. The problem as I see it is that we’re governed by people who don’t really have a background in that sport, pastime, activity and I don’t know what they’re motivated by,” he added.

Cookson said: “Frank Slevin is almost invisible from what I can see. I think he needs to take some responsibility for some of these unfortunate controversies that have happened during his tenure." 

British Cycling has endured an annus horribilis with a series of decisions being made that have led to widespread unhappiness about the organisation's work.

Earlier this year it sparked controversy by blocking trans riders from competing, then in September it issued guidance saying that cyclists should not ride their bikes on the day of the Queen’s funeral before swiftly u-turning. 

Controversy continued to dog the national governing body when British Cycling recently announced an eight year partnership with oil and gas giant Shell. 

Cookson explained to Cycling Weekly that conversations with various people in cycling revealed to him that many are “unhappy with the way that British Cycling has been managed and governed” in recent years which was reflected in the membership.

“I do think that it seems inexplicable to me that the chairman and the board were unaware of the implications of the things that have happened and that have been so controversial,” he said. “I think that some heads have to roll." 

BRITISH CYCLING REACHES LOWEST POINT FOR 30 YEARS

Cookson said that alienation of British Cycling’s membership is something that he feels has affected the organisation for many years. Cookson pointed to former CEO Julie Harrington, who was employed between 2017 and 2020, as playing a detrimental role.

“Julie Harrington got rid of a lot of really good people that had been involved with British Cycling for a long time like Jonny Clay,” he said. “I think the outcome of that was a hollowing out of the organisation and a reduction in understanding of the very sport and pastime that the organisation purports to govern,” he added.  

When approached by Cycling Weekly Harrington declined to comment.

The former president explained that he believes that there are “some really good people involved” at British Cycling across all levels and that he believes “they deserve to be supported better than they are by the people who are leading the organisation at the moment”.

Cookson said that the current state of affairs at British Cycling bore similarities to the events of 1996 in which there was a vote of no confidence in the board when the organisation was heading towards financial ruin.

“Previously for all our faults and flaws, people on the board were through and through cyclists. You could cut them in half and it would say ‘I’m a cyclist’ across their middle like a stick of rock,” he said.

'THE ORGANISATION IS GOING BACKWARDS'

The Lancaster Grand Prix race organiser said it “grieves” him to see the lack of empathy towards the people who “make our sport happen on a day to day basis”.

“They feel absolutely let down by the board and the way in which some of the senior management have behaved," he said.

He added: “The organisation is going backwards now and that’s something I never thought I’d see happen. This isn’t about me, I don’t want to come back to be president of British Cycling or chairman of the board or anything like that. I’m retired, I’m happy and enjoying life."

Cookson also revealed to Cycling Weekly that his understanding is that the dissatisfaction with the governance of British Cycling also extends to a higher international level.

“I can tell you that from what I gather, the UCI doesn’t have a lot of time for the current leadership of British Cycling either,” Cookson said.

Cookson reiterated that he has no plans to seek a return to BC office amongst the current upheaval at the organisation. 

“I don't want this to be about me, because it's not about me. Nobody has got a wonderful magic wand to wave. Although what we’ve got to get back is our organisation, British Cycling, needs to be run by people who have a passion for cycling in all its wonderful forms. Nobody ever said that British Cycling was perfect, nobody ever said that it didn’t need to change, but it needs accountability to the people who make the sport happen,” he concluded.

British Cycling's full statement confirming departure of CEO Brian Facer: 

Brian Facer is to step down as British Cycling CEO with immediate effect, by mutual agreement with the Board of Directors.

The search for a new CEO has now commenced, with Cycling Delivery Director Danielle Every appointed as Acting CEO in the interim.

 British Cycling Chair, Frank Slevin, said:

 “We remain fully committed to the delivery of our ‘Lead our sport, inspire our communities’ strategy, as we continue our work to support and grow our sport and wider activities, and provide our Great Britain Cycling Team riders with the best possible platform for success.

 “Our new CEO will join the organisation at an exciting time as we build towards next year’s inaugural UCI Cycling World Championships in Scotland, and the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024.”

Russian athletes should be suspended from cycling in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the former UCI president Brian Cookson has said.

Asked if cycling's governing body should follow the International Olympic Committe (IOC) call for international sporting federations and organisers to prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes from taking part in their events, telling Cycling Weekly that it "probably should happen, at the present time".

Cookson, who was president of the UCI between 2013 and 2017 said: "I say that reluctantly and with a heavy heart, because I don't really want to penalise innocent athletes, but I don't know what else sport can do to signify sport's disapproval at the present time. I think probably, it's time that sport took those kinds of tough decisions."

Russia invaded Ukraine last week, in a move that has been condemned by the international community. It has used Belarus as a staging post for the invasion, and it has been reported that the country may join Russia in invading.

On Monday, the IOC recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials should not be allowed to participate in international competitions. The UCI has not responded to the statement yet, but is believed to be preparing to do so on Tuesday.

Cookson argued: "Certainly, the UCI needs to do something more than it has already done.

"I think it would be better if sport spoke in harmony, so I think probably the UCI needs to take its lead from the IOC," he said. "I'd be happier if the IOC were a bit more forthright than they have been so far. I see for once FIFA and UEFA have taken a stronger ethical stance on this, not before time. 

"I think in the past on the issue of doping, the IOC have been too weak, so now when this is something more serious, now they need to up their game considerably. If sport is going to take the lead ethically, then now is the time."

However, Cookson cautioned that the issue was "a lot more complicated" than it seemed.

"It's quite easy to have a knee-jerk reaction, but thinking these things through it's a lot more complicated than perhaps you might imagine at first glance. There are a number of issues here."

He explained: "Firstly there are individual Russian riders, who are in teams, some of them may be sponsored by Russian companies or interests, some, mostly, may not. You've got someone like [Pavel] Sivakov at Ineos Grenadiers, who has already tweeted his opposition to the war which is a brave thing to do really. 

"Then you've got teams like Gazprom-RusVelo that are sponsored by Russian interests... Gazprom is Russian whether they like it or not. I've never understood what the commerical interest is from Gazprom sponsoring sports itself, clearly it is about soft power. 

"Then you've got Russian national teams, and the next UCI event I can see that's coming up is the new Nations Cup event in Glasgow in May, where there will be an actual Russian team. If the UCI is going to take a decision to ban Russian teams, that will be the first opportunity to do that. Whether they will or not is another matter."

Gazprom-RusVelo's bike and wheel technical partners, Look and Corima, withdrew their sponsorship of the team on Tuesday. Cookson said: "I think the opportunity is there for them to ride in plain jerseys, for the UCI to insist that they drop Gazprom from their jerseys for at least a limited time."

However, he added: "The question is, are you actually making any impact with that? Is Putin going to take the slightest bit of notice? I doubt whether he would even be aware that this is a Gazprom cycling team. On the other hand, is that going to add to the impact on ordinary Russian people, are they going to say that now it's even cycling, not that cycling is a very big sport in Russia. There are some difficult issues to be resolved there."

The former UCI president called suspending Russian athletes an "unusual, unprecedented step". He said: "I can't think of it ever happening before, maybe going back to the anti-apartheid era. It's full of contradictions, you see what Saudi Arabia is doing in Yemen, what's the difference there? Maybe there is a difference, I don't know, I'm not an expert on geopolitics."

Former UCI president Brian Cookson has unveiled his latest project the Lancaster Grand Prix race, which has been added to the British Cycling road series calendar.

The 160km race is set to take place on Sunday June 9 and will feature seven laps of a circuit based largely on roads through the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The event is being organised by Lune Racing Cycling Club in association with Lancashire and Lancaster councils.

Cookson, who organised many events prior to his stints as the president of the UCI and British Cycling, said the race had been planned to be “like an Ardennes classic” and will feature 2,673m of climbing.

He said: “We don't expect any large groups of riders to be together at the finish. It's a leg-breaker.”

After a short ride out from the start to the Forest of Bowland the race will start its circuit which has previously been used for regional championship road races in the area and the now defunct Fred Atkinson Trophy and the Levy Moores Two Day.

That route passes through the villages of Dolphinholme, Marshaw, Emmetts and Abbeystead before heading back to the start at Ashton Memorial where the race will finish.

No women’s race is planned for the inaugural edition as the date clashes with the women’s Cicle Classic UCI-level race.

The organisers hope that the race will one day grow to UCI-level status.

Team Sky, Bradley Wiggins, and the whole sport of cycling should have their reputations "reinstated" after the ending UK Anti-Doping investigation into the contents of the mystery Jiffy bag delivered to Sky at the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné, according to Brian Cookson.

Speaking at the launch of the Tour de Yorkshire 2018 route in Halifax on Tuesday, the former UCI president said that the closing of the UKAD investigation was the "end of the story" with "no rules broken", and that those involved in the investigation did not deserve the damage that it had caused to their reputations.

"I think the reputation of the sport, the reputation of the the team, and the reputation of the rider Bradley Wiggins should be reinstated," Cookson told the BBC.

"At the end of the day I have no idea what was in that package, and have no idea what the so-called whistleblower told UKAD or told the Daily Mail what was in the package. UKAD have not been able to put a case together so that's the end of the story."

>>> Bradley Wiggins 'breaks silence' and requests source of 'Jiffy bag' allegation

In September 2016 UKAD opened an investigation into the contents of a Jiffy bag delivered from British Cycling headquarters in Manchester to Team Sky at the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné. UKAD received information that the package contained triamcinolone, a glucocorticoid that is banned in-competition when administered in certain ways, while Team Sky general manager Dave Brailsford said that it contained the decongestant Fluimucil.

However, the investigation was closed last month after UKAD said that no anti-doping charges would be brought as it had been unable to determine what was in the package due to inadequate medical record keeping by British Cycling.

Cookson also talked about the use of therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs), medical certificates which allow athletes to use otherwise banned substances to treat medical conditions, which former British Cycling technical director Shane Sutton has said can be used "to find gains".

Cookson said that it should come as no surprise that rules about TUEs are pushed to the limit by athletes and coaches, and that cycling was simply following many other sports in pushing rules to the limit.

>>> GB riders attack Shane Sutton over claims that TUEs can be used to find marginal gains

"I've said many times before I don't think anyone should be surprised when a professional sports team pushes the rules right to the very limit," Cookson said.

"That's what professional sports teams do - you see it in football, you see it in Formula One and so on. That's essentially I think what's happened here; in terms of the structures that were in place at the time, the rules were abided by."

Cookson was replaced as UCI president by Frenchman David Lappartient in September, with the new man at the head of world cycling saying that he wants to prevent riders from competing when they have received TUEs for glucocorticoids.

In a statement released on Sunday, Brian Cookson said that he had spent some weeks considering his future in the sport following being ousted as UCI president in September and had decided he was “not quite ready to disappear altogether from the world of cycling”.

He said: “I have decided that I want to do something different in the sport. Something that I have not done before.

“My intention is that this should begin with the establishing of a women’s WorldTour Team for 2019 – a team that will meet or exceed the new high standards that are likely to be put in place by the UCI for the new two-tier structure for women’s teams that was developed during my term as UCI president.”

>>> Brian Cookson: ‘Cycling is in a far better place since 2013’

Cookson said there had “never been so much interest” in the women’s sport. “We are at a pivotal point, a sea-change in attitude towards women’s sport in the media and amongst the public is taking place, and we should seize this opportunity,” he said.

However, Cookson has not yet got any financial backing for his new team as he went onto say that he “believes that there are companies out there” that could benefit from being involved in the women’s side of the sport. He said he had already received initial interest in the project but was keen to point out that it was in its embryonic stages.

Cookson went on to issue a call for those interested in the project to get in touch.

“I am putting this idea out there because I want to stimulate the decision-makers in those companies, many of whom (men and women) enjoy cycling themselves, to start to think about the possibilities.

"The potential return on their investment could be very substantial, but I want to make it clear that it will need innovation, creativity, and a major effort from their side to make that happen.

"I am not looking for a company to simply underwrite the team, I am looking for partners who want to invest in an initiative that will make a real difference to people’s lives potentially right around the world,” he said.

Cookson is clearly not short of ambition, suggesting that such a team might grow to include a men’s squad at development level and perhaps eventually a men's WorldTour team. This would fit with teams like Sunweb, Orica-Scott and Movistar, all of which have both a men’s and women’s squad.

Current UCI president Brian Cookson has told Cycling Weekly that it wouldn't work if the governing body forced men's teams to have equivalent women's teams, or WorldTour events to have equivalent events.

Cookson said it would not be a 'sustainable' plan for women's cycling, and that the sport needs to "encourage, support and promote women’s cycling" even further.

He also praised leading British events like Prudential RideLondon Classique and the OVO Energy Women’s Tour, stating they were raising standards for women's cycling, especially in terms of prize money.

>>> UCI adds three new races to Women’s WorldTour for 2018 season

He did, however, acknowledge other events were not fully embracing the expansion enabled last year with the introduction of the Women’s WorldTour.

“More and more organisers are wanting to do a good job, wanting to give decent prize money, we’ve seen that certainly in Great Britain,” an upbeat Cookson said. “I think that is something the British should be proud of, though I would say that wouldn’t I?

“You look at organisers who are reluctant to do a women’s race, reluctant to organise it properly, reluctant to give it decent prize money and then you look at the events over here, RideLondon, the Women’s Tour and the Tour de Yorkshire are doing a great job. There are others around the world, those are just examples.”

Cookson did not name any organisers he felt were not doing enough, though his comments came hot on the heels of criticism of La Course, run by Tour de France organisers, ASO. There riders complained about the format of the second stage and of organisational problems.

Lancastrian Cookson is standing for re-election as president later this year after originally being appointed four years ago promising advances for women professionals. One of his pledges which is yet to materialise is a minimum wage, though he cites sustainability as the reason for that.

“It’s one thing to pass rules, I could pass a rule that every men’s WorldTour event has to have a women’s event over the same distance, I could pass a rule that all of the men’s WorldTour teams have to have a Women’s WorldTour team, but the reality is that will not work. It would not be sustainable.

“It might happen for a year or two but what we are doing is to encourage, support and promote women’s cycling and make it an attractive proposition to event organisers, to cities, to host towns and to sponsors.

“But the reason they want to organise a sporting event is because of public interest, so the media has got a part to play in this.

“When I buy L’Equipe, let’s use that as an example, and I see that on the day after La Course on the the Izoard and there were eight to 10 pages on the Tour and it barely mentioned the [La Course] winner.”

Despite criticism suggesting a lack or progress for women’s cycling, Cookson believes the UCI has made steps in the right direction under his presidency.

“I am very proud of what has been achieved, but it’s not perfect yet and it’s not equal yet. It is certainly moving in the right direction, women’s voices are being heard at the UCI now.

"We have a women’s commission have at least one woman on every of the other commissions, and we have a good group of women and teams working on the Women’s WorldTour advising and helping us.

“There is some way to go. There are some sports where women are much better remunerated, but then men are better remunerated in some sports and you can’t really have that discussion without getting into the economics of professional sport.

"It’s challenging but women’s cycling is 100 years behind in terms of the commercial development as a pro sport.”

The election for the new president of the UCI will take place next month at the Road World Championships in Bergen, Norway.

Cookson’s rival for the role is Frenchman David Lappartient, currently a vice president at the governing body and president of the French federation until declaring his candidacy.

Lance Armstrong and his former manager Johan Bruyneel, banned for doping offences, embraced enthusiastically David Lappartient's challenge to Brian Cookson's spot as UCI president.

Cookson, former British Cycling president, announced his bid earlier this year for another four years in charge of cycling's governing body.

Frenchman Lappartient, UCI vice-president and head of the European Cycling Union (UEC), put his hat in the ring on Tuesday for the September elections.

"ABC (Anybody But Cookson)," Armstrong wrote in Twitter in reply to Lappartient's announcement.

The Reasoned Decision in 2012 found Armstrong guilty of years of cheating and led to him losing his seven Tour de France titles. He and was given a lifetime ban, Bruyneel 10 years.

Cookson in 2013 campaigned on change to the Pat McQuaid and Hein Verbruggen reign and after winning, commissioned a £1.5 million review, the Cycling Independent Reform Commission (CIRC), looking into past wrong-doings in the sport.

He announced his plan for the next four years, 2017-2021, via a Twitter message earlier this month.

"Brian, I spared myself the time of reading your manifesto," Bruyneel replied. "You wrote a beautiful one 4 years ago, promised heaven and you did nothing...

"You did nothing other than spend 3mm € [sic] on a report which did nothing else than blaming the past 4 ur own benefit. Oh, and many selfies."

Cookson is involved in an independent report highlighting a "culture of fear" in British Cycling. He presided over the British Cycling federation through the years questioned in the report published last week.

Bruyneel replied to an article that pointed out that UK Sport paid £77,000 for Cookson's campaign to become UCI President.

"The same @BrianCooksonUCI who, for the benefit of getting elected, was on a mission to blame the past and promised being the Messiah...?"

Some critics say that Cookson failed to change much over four years. Manager of team FDJ and former Paris-Roubaix winner Mark Madiot backs his fellow Frenchman Lappartient.

"We need a revolution, a full reconsideration of the function of cycling," Madiot wrote in January. "And this requires the election of a new president."

The comment caught Armstrong's eye, who responded, "I've never agreed with Marc Madiot on anything. Until now."

Lappartient promised his "first priority" would be to "strengthen the authority of the UCI with a president ensuring a real and effective leadership role."

Cookson, 65, welcomed a healthy and what could be a heated debate over the coming three months.

He explained, "I note that so far David Lappartient has not set out very much detail in his plan or any vision he may have beyond his well-known personal ambition for the role."

Bruyneel considers Lappartient the clear winner when the federations vote at the world championships on September 21 in Bergen, Norway. He wrote to Cookson, “u will lose big time.”

Brian Cookson should not be re-elected as president of the Union Cycliste International (UCI) after the publication of a report into discrimination at British Cycling, an MP has claimed.

Damain Collins, the former chair of the Culture, Media, and Sport select committee which interviewed a number of figures within British Cycling as part of a wider inquiry into doping in sport before the general election, said that Cookson, who was president of British Cycling from 1997 to 2013, should not be re-elected as president of the UCI.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Collins said that he hoped that Cookson's reign at the top of the sport's governing body would come to an end in the elections in September.

>>> Staff speak of 'culture of fear' and 'dictatorial regime' at British Cycling

"The crisis in British Cycling is a result of poor governance structure," Collins said.

"The board sought to avoid conflict with senior team leaders and coaches, and there was no accountability for their actions. Even when concerns were brought to their attention they failed to act upon them.

"In light of the findings of the independent review, I do not believe that Brian Cookson should be re-elected as head of the UCI - he certainly shouldn't receive any support from UK Sport or his campaign."

>>> Jess Varnish 'insulated' as she considers legal action after 'laughable' British Cycling report

Collins also calls for changes at the top of British Cycling, including the resignation of Jonathan Browning, who only became chairman in February.

"There also needs to be a complete change in the governance structure of British Cycling - none of the members of the board from the period covered in the investigation should remain, which would mean that Jonathan Browning should stand aside fro his position as chairman."

Brian Cookson has reiterated his desire to run for a second term as UCI president claiming he is unsure if he’ll run opposed in elections later this year.

Speaking at a press conference at the Tour Down Under on Thursday, the 65-year-old was diplomatic when asked to comment on other potential candidates as well as constituents.

“It’s a little bit early to start campaigning at the moment. I don’t know whether there will be any challenges but I’m willing to be a candidate for another four years. I wouldn’t do four after that, I think that’s enough for any human being,” Cookson said.

>>> Brian Cookson set to face French challenge for UCI presidency?

The likes of French Cycling Federation head David Lappartient and Belgian Cycling Federation president Tom Van Damme have been rumoured as potential contenders for the top position that Cookson assumed in 2013 from Irishman Pat McQuaid.

“David is an ambitious young man and may well decide to be a candidate at some stage. If I was him, I’d wait another four years. He’d probably have an extremely good chance, he wouldn’t be opposing me, but it’s a matter for him,” Cookson said of the 43-year-old.

“Taking on a job like this you accept someone else might think they can do a better job. I’m not complacent, but I’m relaxed. If there is a political fight to be had then I’ll fight, but I don’t think we need that in our sport.

“We had a very controversial election campaign four years ago and frankly I think we’d be better not going down that road again. But that’s for other people to decide. I’ve said I’m willing to continue, I’ve got work to do and I’m up for it.”

Cookson won the last election with a manifesto to make anti-doping procedures fully independent and pursue an investigation (the estimated €3 million, 228-page CIRC report) into the sport’s doping culture, following Lance Armstrong’s explosive demise that at the time implicated top brass.

“If we look back, things were in a disastrous state,” Cookson said. “We’ve done a lot of work in rebuilding the image and integrity of the sport. It’s not perfect yet, we’ve still got some way to go. But if I look at the anti-doping situation, I think we’ve got now really good processes that are genuinely independent. There is no possibility of conflicts of interest, no way in which I could interfere in the process, even if I wanted to, which I don’t.”

The former British Cycling president wouldn’t be moved on what his manifesto for another term may detail but cited work including developments in women’s cycling, WorldTour and track programme reviews enacted under his tenure.

UCI president Brian Cookson has called for "full disclosure" of the details of a mystery medical package that was delivered to Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky at the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné.

David Brailsford is due to appear in front of a parliamentary select committee on December 19, where Cookson hopes that the Team Sky boss will be fully transparent about the contents of the package.

"I would hope that there is full disclosure to the select committee,” Cookson said in an interview with The Times.

“I am surprised that one particular package has been singled out and I don’t understand why that should be, unless there is someone who has leaked this [and] presumably has some sort of reason to suspect that there is something in it that they would rather not go into public."

>>> Chris Froome still 'in the dark' over Wiggins/Sky TUE controversy

“I don’t understand why there is a mystery about it, to be quite honest. One would imagine there is a record of this.”

Wiggins and Team Sky have come into fire in recent months, first over revelations that Wiggins received a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) that allowed him to use otherwise illegal corticosteroids on medical grounds before the 2011 and 2012 Tours de France and the 2013 Giro d'Italia, and then over the mysterious medical package that was delivered to the team at the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné.

 Watch: Tour de France 2017 - essential guide

Simon Cope, then a British Cycling staff member, flew with a package from Great Britain to Geneva, Switzerland, and drove it to the team in France.

He met Sky medic Dr Richard Freeman at La Toussuire ski resort, on the final stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné on June 12.

Wiggins won the French stage race, which set him up for a run at the Tour de France. He abandoned the Tour due to a broken collarbone, but returned in 2012 to become the first British winner.

Brailsford said that he knows what was in the package but would not reveal its contents. It is unknown if it was for Wiggins or another of Sky’s other riders at the race.

Brian Cookson was British Cycling president at the time of the incident, but was adamant in his answer when questioned over whether he was aware of the contents of the package.

"No, absolutely not, but I’m not surprised that packages are taken and delivered to teams from time to time, whether pedals, shoes, medical products, I’m sure that’s happening all the time with all the teams because they are always on the road."

>>> David Brailsford says 'he made things worse' in Team Sky and Bradley Wiggins furore

Away from Brailsford's appearance in front of the select committee, UK Anti-Doping has also been investigating the package.

However, the report is expected to clear Wiggins of any wrongdoing, although Team Sky and British Cycling are expected to come under fire.

UCI president Brian Cookson suggests Team Sky may have pushed the rules around Therapeutic Use Exemptions “to the very limit”, but insists everybody has abided by the rules in place.

The British team have been under fire in recent weeks after hackers released details of TUEs obtained by Sir Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome, as well as other cyclists from other teams.

Wiggins was prescribed a corticosteroid to help treat a severe pollen allergy, which was authorised by officials at the UCI, but the practice of obtaining TUEs by Sky has been brought into question.

“We shouldn’t be surprised when elite sports teams push to the very limit of the rules. Perhaps that’s what happened here, but the rules appear to have been abided by,” Cookson said at the Road World Championships in Doha.

The medication prescribed to Wiggins, triamcinolone, has been abused in the past by cyclists looking to shed weight in a short amount of time - according to David Millar and other former dopers - although there is no suggestion that Wiggins was using it in this way.

Cookson admitted that everything in the process of obtaining the TUE was above board, as far as the rules go, but questioned whether the medication in question should be prescribed.

“The issue of the substances issued to Wiggins appears to have been within the rules,” Cookson added. “But I think there is an argument to be had about whether TUEs for that kind of substance are valid.”

Brian Cookson and future UCI presidents will be restricted to three terms in office under new rules voted in by the governing body's members at the UCI Congress in Doha.

The new rule was just one of the changes to the constitution announced by the UCI, which also ensures broader representation of the Continental Confederations on the Management Committee and increased representation for the African Confederation.

Delegates at the congress also voted through changes to the process of electing officials to ensure that elections are carried out in a democratic, transparent manner.

UCI president, Cookson, said: “Today marks another important step forward for the governance of the UCI. It is in line with international best practice and will help to reinforce the UCI's credibility within the international sports community, as well as with all our stakeholders.”

The UCI's Ethics Commission has also been amended, with three of the five members, including the president, being independent from the world of cycling.

President of the Ethics Commission, Bernard Foucher, said: “In order to continue the particularly constructive work of the former President Richard Leggat, who I thank, I would like the Ethics Commission, which can now rely on an entirely renewed Code, a composition of predominately independent members and real power, to help to its best ability the UCI’s different bodies ensure that the transparency and fundamental values of sport are respected.”

Cycling boss Brian Cookson, who is visiting Rio de Janeiro for this month's Olympic Games, says that some other sports are in denial about doping and are not doing enough about the problem.

Over the recent years, cycling dealt with numerous doping scandals from the Festina Affair to Lance Armstrong and implemented new tests and policies. Others, like athletics recently, are just now dealing with these problems or, as Cookson said, are turning a blind eye.

"I've often said that, for me, there are two groups of sports: sports that have a doping problem and are doing something about it – and I believe we're in amongst the leaders in those – and sports that have a doping problem and are in denial and are not doing anywhere near enough about it," UCI President Cookson told Australia's Fairfax Media.

"And I think sooner or later those sports that are in denial and haven't done enough are going to have – and perhaps are already having – the sorts of problems that we had."

In the build up to Rio, the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) McLaren Report exposed a state-sponsored doping system in Russia. The International Association of Athletics Federations banned Russians from taking part in the Rio Games as a result.

In swimming, several athletes have complained that the federation could be doing more to stop cheats from competing.

Cycling's colourful history over the last 25 years saw a series of busts and several positives. The sport responded with EPO tests, biological passports and bans. The Lance Armstrong Reasoned Decision, as recently as 2012, exposed corruption within the sport's own governing body and the backlash largely help Cookson take over the presidency in 2013 from Pat McQuaid.

"I don't want to be complacent or to criticise other sports. I think what we have done was necessary for our sport," Cookson added.

"And I'm not at all complacent, but I think we're in a good position as a sport. I think our credibility is much higher than it was a few years ago, but we need to keep working at that. As do all other sports."

Cookson added that cycling should not be as concerned over the Russians. They "are already in our system, in the biological passport, in the registered testing pool – whether ours, or their own, or the UKAD one – and so they're tested multiple times outside of Russia."

President of cycling's governing body and former head of British Cycling, Brian Cookson says that he is concerned about the Brexit leave vote because of the consequences it could have for the sport.

The UK voted in a referendum, with 52% in favour of leaving the European Union. The change is due to happen in two years and is expected to impact the world, sport and of course, cycling.

"I think the freedom of travel within the European Union and the Schengen agreement have been a real asset to cycling and to all sport," Cookson told Cycling Weekly ahead of the second stage of the Tour de France.

"I'm concerned that we don't tear those agreements up too quickly without at least making sure there are at least as effective arrangements in place afterwards.

"We are going to all have to study it in the next months. I don't think anyone expected such results really, even the campaigners who supported the UK leaving the European Union."

Watch: Highlights from stage two of the 2016 Tour de France

The results mean that the UK would have to invoke article 50 from the European Union treaty to leave.

Cookson plans to meet with the others in the UCI and with the national federations to understand the impact of the leave vote on the international sport, where top WorldTour teams field riders from around the world. For instance, Manxman Mark Cavendish lives in England and in Italy, and rides for a South African team.

"We need to know what the issues might be about free circulation of labour and free trade, and all the rest of it," Cookson added.

"We are down the list of priorities of the British movement. No one seems to have thought through what it might mean for any industry, let alone the cycling industry."

>>> Brexit could mean ‘considerable increases’ in bike prices, warns distributor

Cookson indicated that he favoured a remain outcome in the elections held on June 23.

"For Great Britain to leave the European Union is a mistake, it would be a mistake, but let's see what agreements can be reached to maintain the advantages of being part of the European Union," he said.

"When you look at teams, which are international now, and the issues of visas and so on, those are the kind of issues that we need to be clear what the longer term issues will be."

UCI president Brian Cookson has expressed concerns that delays in completing the velodrome in the Rio 2016 Olympic Park will mean there will not be time for a test event before August's Games.

Cookson, who had previously stated he was confident the 5,000 venue would be complete on time, now worries the velodrome will not be ready for hand-over with enough time for testing.

"I'm very unhappy about that," Cookson said in an interview with the Associated Press. "The progress still seems to be incredibly slow. We now believe we don't have any time for any proper test events, and that's very, very worrying.

"I want to encourage our friends in Rio to live up to the commitment that they've made and have the venue finished and operational -- fully -- several weeks before the Games."

>>> Peter Sagan may ride MTB at the Olympics after wildcard place is requested

The president noted that the BMX and mountain biking courses were already complete, but the velodrome, scheduled for completion in March, was still unfinished.

A test event in March, and pushed back to April, was cancelled and Cookson believes there are problems with a planned training weekend at the end of June.

"We are very concerned that the major flagship of our sport will be properly presented," Cookson said.

Brazilian sports minister, Leonardo Picciani, says work on the velodrome will be finished in June, with only fine tuning needed after that, according to AP.

After Belgian cyclo-cross rider Femke Van den Driessche was handed a six-year ban by the UCI for mechanical doping, president Brian Cookson is certain she didn't act alone.

Cookson has called for the rider's accomplices to be punished as well, saying he does not believe the 19-year-old acted alone when she was found to have a motor in one of her bikes at the U23 World Championships in January.

Van den Driessche was banned for six years and fined €20,000 by the UCI disciplinary commission in April.

"I do not think it all stops here for her entourage," Cookson said, quoted in Het Nieuwsblad. "Let me put it this way: I can not imagine that this young lady has done this on her own."

He added: "If it turns out that other people were involved in the fraud, you can also expect consequences for them. If necessary, we will refer them to the Belgian federation."

Van den Driessche's lawyer, Kristof De Saedeleer, said he did not know of any sanctions for the rider's entourage and questioned who the authorities would punish in any case.

"Her father was called in front of the committee, but only as a witness, not a defendant," he told Het Nieuwsblad. "Only Femke herself was liable as a defendant. If there are soon to be sanctions for other people, you can do so only through new disciplinary procedures."

>>> Everything you need to know about the motorised doping scandal

Van den Driessche's suspension was backdated to October 11, 2015 - the date of the cyclo-cross event in Ronse, where a suspicious video of her speeding away from a group of riders on a cobbled climb emerged.

The Madison and points race could be added to the track cycling schedule for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after UCI president Brian Cookson suggested he is looking to expand the number of races on offer.

Currently, both men and women compete in the individual sprint, keirin, team sprint, team pursuit and omnium, with only the last two offering an opportunity for endurance athletes.

The programme was reduced before Beijing 2008 and then adjusted again in 2012 to ensure gender equality, but now Cookson hopes to add more races to increase the number of medal opportunities for all the riders and countries participating.

"We’re looking at the possibility of adapting the programme after Rio 2016 and we will discuss with the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and Tokyo 2020 what changes we might make," Cookson told insidethegames.biz.

"I would very much like to see the track programme defended and expanded, if possible. I think previous administrations at the UCI gave out signals that track racing was in decline.

"What is clear to me is that its not in decline at all. It is growing strongly and we are putting a lot of effort into developing track racing."

>>> Tokyo 2020 Olympic track cycling to be staged 120km away from capital

Events like the Madison and points race proved popular with crowds at the World Championships in London back in March - maybe because British athletes won gold medals - and adding them in wouldn't necessarily lead to an increase in the number of athletes in a squad.

And Cookson says that after the UCI accepted a move out of Tokyo for the 2020 track cycling events he's going to push for a reform as a compromise.

"I’ve given out a message that we agreed to compromises in Tokyo in moving-out to Izu," he said.

"It’s clear that one of the things we’d like to see is a modest expansion of the track programme."

Brian Cookson confirmed at the European Cycling Union Annual Congress that he will stand for a second term as UCI president, saying there is still work to be done.

Cookson, who was elected as the head of cycling's governing body in September 2013, told the congress on Sunday that he will seek a second and final term to continue the work he has started over the past two-and-a-half years.

“Although it hasn’t always been easy, we have made significant progress – but now is not the time for us to be distracted or diverted," he said. "It’s important to remember that I am only in the third year of my first four-year mandate.

"Together, we still have much more to do. We all have a responsibility to deliver. Stability, not conflict, is what we need to continue our journey forward. All our progress has not come about by chance. It has been delivered through hard work, unity and dedication and I am grateful for the support of the global cycling family in driving our sport forward.

>>> UCI president Brian Cookson responds to athletics doping scandal

“My vision is that the UCI will be known as the best respected and trusted International Federation. One that is known for good governance, open and transparent procedures, forward thinking and which embraces innovation whilst respecting our heritage. An organisation leading a sport which people, sponsors, stakeholders, want to be part of.

“I am passionate about this vision and I know that there is still a lot of work to do. So I want to be clear that I fully intend to come back to you next year at this congress to seek your support for a final 4-year term as UCI President.”

BMC Racing General Manager Jim Ochowicz wants "answers and solutions" from the UCI after vehicles have caused cyclists to crash in recent races.

Ochowicz wrote an open letter to the governing body’s president, Brian Cookson, on Monday. It follows this weekend's events, where BMC cyclist Danilo Wyss fell due to a TV motorbike in La Drôme Classic and a medic's motorbike clipped Stig Broeckx (Lotto-Soudal) in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

"This has got to stop before the headlines in the future are of a more disturbing nature than what we have seen in 2015 and now again in 2016," Ochowicz wrote. "To the UCI, I am turning to you for answers and solutions."

>>> Lotto-Soudal file complaint against motorbike rider who knocked off Stig Broeckx

The American team manager already penned a letter last year when a television motorbike caused his rider to crash in the Clásica San Sebastián. On a climb travelling at slow speeds, the motorbike swerved and clipped the back wheel of Greg Van Avermaet. He went from leading to rolling in a grassy ditch. Brit Adam Yates (Orica-GreenEdge) won the race.

https://youtu.be/P-jFLVtOKK8

In the Tour of Flanders last spring, the Shimano neutral car knocked both Jesse Sergent and Sébastien Chavanel off their bikes. Motorbikes did the same to Jakob Fuglsang in the Tour de France, and Sergio Paulinho and Peter Sagan in the Vuelta a España. The collisions resulted in broken bones and missed races – already too much, says Ochowicz.

"On September 1, 2015, less than one year ago, I wrote a similar letter after an alarming number of crashes involving vehicles had taken place in the peloton since the beginning of the 2015 season.

"Despite my reaching out for help at that time, the problem became even more prominent as the season went on and we watched in disbelief. Now here I am again asking the powers to be to take notice," Ochowicz wrote in his letter to Cookson.

"This weekend we saw two serious incidents take place that involved vehicles on the race course taking down riders on live television at La Drôme Classic in France and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne in Belgium. Incredible!

"The riders deserve far more respect than what they are receiving from those who are responsible for protecting their safety. We all understand that there exists an element of danger in the sport of cycling from a number of places and conditions but no rider expects to be run down from behind by an over-enthusiastic pilot on a closed race course. Disgraceful!"

>>> These are the times when support vehicles have hit riders in the past 12 months (videos)

At the time this article was published, the UCI had not yet responded to Cycling Weekly as to how it plans to respond. The UCI's Road Commission met in September and vowed to perform a "full review of the current regulations."

Following Stig Broeckx's incident on Sunday, Belgian team Lotto-Soudal filed a complaint and explained that it wants to see "concrete measures taken to increase the safety of the riders."

Former professional and cyclists’ union president Cédric Vasseur said, “The UCI is not serious in facing this problem. They talk and say they will brainstorm, but it’s not about that now, you have to act at this point.”

Cycling's governing body, the UCI, says it will issue its ruling on Katusha today, with the Russian team taking a minimum 15-day ban for its recent doping cases.

Italian Luca Paolini tested positive for cocaine at the 2015 Tour de France and last week the UCI announced that Russian Eduard Vorganov tested positive for meldonium, an anti-ischemic drug used to treat patients with chronic heart failure.

It was the second such positive test within 12 months. New rules state the team could be blocked from racing for 15 to 45 days.

”Will we send a signal? The Disciplinary Commission will look at the legalities of the case and the proportionality, but we must wait to see what comes out of that," said UCI President Brian Cookson today at the Tour of Qatar. "I expect something in the next few hours."

The team in red has a colourful past. It nearly lost its racing license for the 2013 season due to doping cases and other problems.

"I won't get involved in that process. What section the team gets is not a matter for me," added Cookson. "We put the process in place [for 2015], now we to wait the outcome like everybody else.

"The rules are clear. It is a minimum of 15 calendar days if the commission feels the rule has been broken. They will make an assessment, but there is a provision within the rules for a subjective assessment."

Several cyclists like Norwegian Classics star Alexander Kristoff could face a delay in their season preparations. He began his season this week at the Tour of Qatar, where Cookson visited today.

"The rules are what the rules are. I understand the riders are worried about it, it interrupts in their season plans."

Chris Froome wonders why people think he would start his season with the Tour Down Under, having not raced there for six years.

The Team Sky leader lands in Adelaide on Monday, the day after the Australian race finishes, causing UCI president Brian Cookson to wonder why Froome didn't ride the race.

Froome will start his season at the Sun Herald Tour in February after a block of training with Sky coach Tim Kerrison in Australia.

Since racing the Tour Down Under in 2010, Froome has not started his season in January, preferring instead to wait until early February before pinning on a race number.

“It’s an odd decision by Team Sky I have to say,” Cookson said of Froome's absence from the race, despite coming to Australia.

“It’s not a helpful decision but one understands why these teams sometimes make these decisions. Performance criteria will always overrule other criteria in certain teams and certain cases. It’s a long season and riders need to prepare in the best way, but certainly that was a puzzling decision to me."

UCI President Brian Cookson has labelled Chris Froome’s decision to skip the Tour Down Under despite coming to Adelaide, South Australia as “puzzling”.

Froome is set to arrive in Australia on Monday, a day after the first WorldTour event of the season finishes for a training block under the guidance of Team Sky head of athlete performance Tim Kerrison.

The 30-year-old has ambitions at the Tour de France, Rio Olympics and the Vuelta a España this year and has opted for a more subdued start to the season at the Herald Sun Tour in Victoria next month.

The absence of marquee international riders competing at the Tour Down Under has been a point of discussion during the race. It’s been made perhaps more imperative in light of UCI WorldTour reforms that key stakeholder ASO has rejected and pulled its events, including the Tour de France, from in an ongoing turf war.

We spoke to Chris Froome ahead of the 2016 season 

“It’s an odd decision by Team Sky I have to say,” Cookson said.

“It’s not a helpful decision but one understands why these teams sometimes make these decisions. Performance criteria will always overrule other criteria in certain teams and certain cases. It’s a long season and riders need to prepare in the best way, but certainly that was a puzzling decision to me.

“Some riders prefer a lower key start to the season … and it’s difficult to imagine everyone competing at the highest level right the way through. But as I said what we’re trying to do with the reforms of the WorldTour is understand that a little bit more clearly and make sure we do get the best riders in as many as the best events as possible.”

Cookson in a press conference before the start of the Tour Down Under’s queen stage fielded questions mainly related to the reforms and ASO’s opposition to them.

Tour de France race director Christian Prudhomme was meant to be in Adelaide at the same time as Cookson but cancelled his trip due to travel delays.

“It’s not impossible to run the WorldTour without ASO’s events but of course they are some of the biggest and best events so it’s regrettable if they would not be part of it. We do want them to be part of it,” he said.

Froome is set to train in Adelaide with Sky team-mates including Geraint Thomas, Ian Stannard and maybe Salvatore Puccio in the lead-up to the Herald Sun Tour, taking advantage of warmer weather where he is less susceptible to illness.

“He’s won the Tour twice now so he has the confidence, he has the leadership skills, he has the experience and feels less pressure now to start winning in February,” Kerrison said of the Sky leader. “So he’s happy to take a lower key start.”

The decision of riders to opt out of the Tour Down Under is also notwithstanding the competitive level of the event that some have openly admitted is too hard for them and at this time of year.

“In a way perhaps the Tour Down Under is a victim of its own success,” Cookson said.

It's pretty safe to assume that Brian Cookson and Hein Verbruggen are not on each other's Christmas card list this year, with the current and former UCI presidents disagreeing once more - this time on a supposed agreement between the pair.

In March, Cookson asked Verbruggen to step down from his position of honorary president at the UCI in light of the Cycling Independent Reform Commission's (CIRC) report, which didn't paint the Dutchman and his successor Pat McQuaid in a particularly good light.

Verbruggen, unsurprisingly, refused Cookson's suggestions, claiming that he was 'proud' of his legacy and instead set about planning to sue the UCI over the CIRC report.

Come December, though, Verbruggen was claiming that he and Cookson had come to an agreement, telling insidethegames.biz that “Mr. Cookson renounces definitively from asking me to resign from my Honorary-Presidency and agrees not to mention this question anymore publicly or privately."

Cookson responded to Verbruggen's claims, which also included the fact that the UCI would pay £29,000 towards his legal costs, with a short, but comprehensive statement on Twitter.

"I was elected to change the way the UCI conducts itself and therefore, following a request from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), I indeed met with Mr Hein Verbruggen last summer," the statement read.

"We came to a confidential agreement which was to ensure, amongst other things, that he would stop using his influence to criticise and cause trouble for the UCI.

"Since Mr Verbruggen never respected his commitments, the agreement is considered null.

"No money has ever been paid to Mr Verbruggen since I became President."

Something tells me this won't be the last we hear from this feud.

UCI president Brian Cookson said it would be 'unthinkable' for track cycling not to feature in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Durban, South Africa.

Organisers of the games omitted the sport from its winning bid, with the costs of building a velodrome the likely reason.

Track cycling has featured in every Commonwealth Games since 1930 and Cookson claims the velodrome doesn't need to have a roof to host the Games, meaning an existing outdoor track in Pietermaritzburg - 80kms from Durban - could be considered for the event.

"A Commonwealth Games without track cycling is unthinkable, every organiser in recent memory has included track cycling and it would be a disaster, a tragedy, to have a Commonwealth Games without it," he said in an interview with insidethegames.biz.

“They [Durban] have been looking at the costings of the London velodrome, but they don’t need to have as expensive a velodrome.

“Maybe they don’t need to have an indoor velodrome as the climate in that part of the world is quite consistent, it’s one of the things we can look at.

"People forget it is not that long ago that track cycling was almost always outdoors."

The Commonwealth Games Federation has stressed that any solution needs to be sustainable, but chief executive David Grevemberg says 'nothing is off the table' when it comes to finding a host venue for track cycling.

UCI president Brian Cookson has backed Turkmenistan in its bid to host the World Track Championships, but says the country may be best off hosting smaller events before aiming for the big one.

Turkmenistan president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov told the Olympic Council of Asia that he wants to raise the profile of his country through sport, as shown by the development of a $5bn Olympic complex in the capital Ashgabat.

>>> London Track World Championships rearranged to avoid rugby clash

The country already boasts one of the largest velodromes in the world, with the Ashgabat Sports Complex track capable of holding 6,000 spectators, and Cookson welcomes the country's desire to host international track cycling.

Mark Cavendish discusses the London Six Day

“There’s a superb velodrome there, a huge building that is completely unused at the moment,” Cookson told insidethegames.

“There is a wonderful opportunity to put on events there, I know they are very keen on putting forward a bid for the World Track Championships.

“The President of the Republic was at the OCA Congress and he spoke very favourably about the idea of having a World Track Cycling Championships there and it is something we can do.

“Maybe we would like them to have some experience first, perhaps with a junior World Championships, as Kazakhstan did earlier this year."

As insidethegames reports, Turkmenistan would be only the second Asian nation to hold the World Track Championships, after the Japanese city of Maebashi hosted the event in 1990.

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) president Brian Cookson has condemned the behaviour of some fans during this year's Tour de France, branding their actions as 'hooliganism'.

There were several reported incidents of riders being spat at by spectators, with Tour winner Chris Froome (Team Sky) at one point being dowsed with urine. Sky's Richie Porte also said he was punched by a spectator on stage 10 of the race.

"I am worried about the beginnings of an element of hooliganism coming towards our sport which we have largely been able to avoid in recent years," Cookson told news agency AFP while at the International Olympic Committee meetings in Kuala Lumpur this week.

Many believed the negative actions committed against riders, and in particular those in Team Sky, were as a result of comments made in the French media. Froome was subjected to questions and insinuations that he was doping to achieve his result - which he strenuously denied, and Sky took steps to publish his power data to prove his performances were credible.

>>> Team Sky car hit and heckled by fans as it goes up Alpe d’Huez (video)

Several videos shot during the 2015 Tour show spectators clearly spitting in Froome's face, and the atmosphere on Alpe d'Huez on the final stage turned hostile as one of the Sky team cars was hit, covered in drink and pelted with objects.

"I think Chris was subjected to a fairly nasty form of antagonism from a small number of people," said Cookson.

"But there was also a little bit of slightly joking, slightly hooligan-type behaviour in places with cars being kicked, things being thrown at cars."

Although there is a limit to what race organiser ASO can do to restrict the behaviour of fans, Cookson asked spectators to be respectful to those taking part.

"The Tour, all of cycle racing is a great free sport. It is possible to get close to the athletes, to the competitors, in a way that is not really possible in any other sport. If we want that to continue then we all have a responsibility to behave."

A video published ahead of the 2015 Tour by ASO featured a number of leading riders asking fans to 'respect the Tour', and keep back from riders on crowded roads such as Alpe d'Huez to prevent incidents or injuries to both riders and fans alike.

Video: Best of the 2015 Tour de France

UCI president Brian Cookson has said that he believed Astana are doing their best to support clean sport and comply with World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) rules, after the team’s Tour de France start was mired by Lars Boom showing a low-cortisol level in a pre-race test.

That saw Astana quickly abandon the rules of the voluntary anti-doping organisation they are part of, the Movement for Credible Cycling (MPCC).

According to MPCC rules, a rider with low-cortisol levels should be withdrawn from racing for eight days, but with Astana being notified of Boom’s test results after the Tour teams were finalised, they were unable to bring in a replacement rider, and so pressed ahead with the Dutchman in the squad.

Cookson was quick to distance the UCI from the matter, as under WADA rules low-cortisol is not an indication of doping.

He also insisted that he believes Astana are committed to the conditions put in place by the UCI Licence Commission, after their anti-doping procedures were audited by scientists at the University of Lausanne earlier this year.

“Astana team are under a very high level of scrutiny now and I believe they are trying to do their best to comply with the rules and the spirit of the rules and to support clean athletes,” Cookson told reporters in Utrecht.

“I respect that. Let’s hope history proves that to be worthwhile.”

“I don’t think it’s good news for anybody certainly, but the plain fact of the matter is is that Lars Boom has not broken any UCI rules and therefore he can ride the Tour de France.”

Astana joined the MPCC in 2013 and followed the organisation’s rules when they pulled their team from the Tour of Beijing in late 2014, after brothers Valentin and Maxim Iglinskiy both tested positive for EPO.

It started a difficult period for the Kazakh squad as the UCI scrutinised their anti-doping procedures before awarding the team a WorldTour licence for 2015.

But now Astana look likely to join Lampre-Merida, LottoNL-Jumbo and Bardiani-CSF in leaving the organisation over the cortisol issue.

But despite the controversy surrounding Boom on Friday before the 2015 Grand Départ time trial, Cookson says there is no justification for the UCI getting involved.

“Our rules are absolutely based on the WADA code and rules and scientific experts have looked at that issue of low-cortisol and concluded that it’s not necessarily proof of an anti-doping rules violations,” Cookson said.

“I think it’s absolutely vital that when we take actions as UCI against a rider we believe to have been doping that we have the strength of WADA behind us.

“If we don’t, if we didn’t and we went outside of that you can bet your bottom dollar the teams and riders would take us to any court they possibly could.”

Since becoming president of the world governing body in 2013, Cookson instigated the Cycling Independent Reform Commission report into doping, which recommended more stringent measures to catch riders micro-dosing EPO.

This included abandoning the no-testing window between 11pm and 6am, with a new series of night time tests, something Cookson was also able to confirm while visiting stage one of the Tour.

“The night controls are allowed now under the WADA code and UCI regulations,” he said.

“I can confirm that a small number of controls have taken place during the night and the possibility remains that they might continue.

“No team or rider can rest easy if they think they’re using that window for micro-dosing, there is a very strong possibility that they might get a knock on the door in the middle of the night.”

 Watch highlights of stage one at the Tour de France

Former UCI president Hein Verbruggen is ready to sue his old employers over the 'sham' report by the Cycling Independent Reform Commission, which heavily criticised the Dutchman's reign.

While the report cleared Verbruggen and his successor Pat McQuaid of concealing failed drugs tests and corruption, it did however criticise their tenures and how the sport was run in the era.

Verbruggen hailed the report after its publication for clearing him of wrongdoing, but now has revealed his own 14-page 'Statement of Criticisms', which will likely lead to legal action, according to the Telegraph.

The document, seen by the newspaper, begins with an executive summary stating: “The CIRC report just aims at destroying not only my person and reputation – which was of course the aim of [current UCI president] Mr Cookson and WADA – but also 15 years of hard work by many people devoted to the cause of cycling and anti-doping.

“Failing concealed tests and corruption, other arguments had to be found to bring me down. The CIRC report is woefully short of objectivity and neutrality...a complete sham.”

Cookson has refused to be drawn into a public conflict with Verbruggen has said that he won't stand in the way of the former president suing the UCI.

"If Mr Verbruggen wishes to sue the UCI, that of course is a matter for him," Cookson is quoted as saying on the BBC.

UCI president Brian Cookson showed little mercy for Sky's Richie Porte. The Australian received a hefty two-minute penalty on Tuesday for receiving a wheel from rival team Orica-GreenEdge while the Giro d’Italia sped into Forlì.

Porte slipped from third overall at 22 seconds to 12th at 3-09 minutes as a result of the stage 10 incident. He lost 47 seconds to leader Alberto Contador, but that grew to 2-47 when the UCI jury applied a rule that prohibits help from a rival team. In this case, Australian Simon Clarke (Orica) stopped to put his front wheel in Porte's bike while Porte waited for his team-mates at seven kilometres to race.

>>> Twitter reacts to Richie Porte’s Giro d’Italia time penalty

"It was an unfortunate incident for everyone, but the rule is there, it's clear, it's not a new rule," Cookson told Cycling Weekly.

"The penalty is quite clear and I think the commissaires acted in the right way."

The four-man jury based its decision on UCI rule 12.1.040 / 8.2, "Non-regulation assistance to a rider of another team". It penalised both Porte and Clarke two minutes in the overall classification and fined them 200 Swiss Francs each.

Critics argue the jury gave Porte the death penalty and ignored the fair play gesture of Clarke. Though much can change in the upcoming week before the Giro finishes in Milan on May 31, the decision essentially turned a three-man Giro battle into a two-man battle between Contador and Fabio Aru (Astana).

>>> Porte the underdog promises to fight back

"The simple fact is the race conduct is in the hands of the jury. It'd be anarchy if the UCI overruled from time to time the decision of the jury. We don't do that," Cookson said.

"They made the correct decision, it was unfortunate for Richie, the team, but the rule is there for a good reason. Riders and teams are professional, one expects them to know the rules."

Television images often show riders pacing themselves back to the group via the team cars, 'sticky bottles' or 'magic spanners'. Many yesterday pointed to Contador taking off his helmet mid-race to change his cap underneath and said that that required an automatic disqualification based on rule 12.1.040 / 3.3.

>>> Twitter goes into meltdown over Contador helmet removal

"It's clear that at times the transgression does not affect the outcome of a race and therefore there are rules where there is some flexibility, but when it happens like this, when a race is full on, near the finish, to a rider who is a contender and at the top positions of the GC, then really the commissaries have no option but to be firm," Cookson said

"While it was a sporting gesture, it could be seen as an unfair gesture, the teams are nine riders, not 10. Would an Australian give his wheel to Aru or Contador? That's why there are those kind of rules, a team is a team."

Clarke said that he had acted on instinct.

“That certainly wasn’t my intention [to have Porte penalised]. I was just trying to help a mate,” Clarke said.

“You’d never wish someone to puncture in such an unfortunate moment, especially a GC guy who could lose the race for that. I just did what I thought was right, and try to support a friend.”

UCI President Brian Cookson has responded to scathing criticism from honorary leader Hein Verbruggen who has refused to surrender his title.

Verbruggen in a 3350-word letter to the UCI Management Committee slammed the incumbent, questioning the balance of the highly-publicised Cycling Independent Reform Commission (CIRC) report that partly investigated allegations of corruption and complicity in his 1991-2005 administration and that of successor Pat McQuaid.

The 73-year-old in the letter that Belgian newspaper De Morgen published on Monday also adamantly rejected a suggestion he step down as honorary president of the international governing body, dubbing the motion as a “personal revenge campaign against me by Mr Cookson”.

>>> Former UCI president writes open letter criticising Brian Cookson

Cookson in a statement today stood by his position and the €3 million independent report that did not sustain any such allegations but did illustrate the former presidents in an unfavourable light.

“I think Mr Verbruggen's letter speaks for itself,” he said. “Those who have read the CIRC report will understand where the UCI went wrong in the past, including the conflicts it needlessly got into and which seriously damaged its credibility.

"I was elected to change the way the UCI conducts itself and I won't be drawn into this kind of public conflict.”

Cookson - in the wake of the 227-page report and anti-doping and governance recommendations made within it last month - signalled for Verbruggen to resign from his honorary post.

Cavendish: CIRC report provides no new information

“Given the contents of the CIRC report, I do indeed think that it would be appropriate for Mr Verbruggen to consider his honorary position with the UCI,” he had said after it was published on the federation’s website.

Verbruggen was unequivocal in a response addressed to management committee members this month.

“…I declare here and now that I will consider the withdrawal of my title to be a ‘sanction’ and I will NOT accept being sanctioned, especially not by such a person has Mr Cookson! Be aware that the UCI should be prepared to face legal action against any sanction imposed on me based on either Mr Cookson declaring me a “dictator”, or on the clearly biased CIRC report,” he wrote.

>>> Five things you missed from the CIRC report

Verbruggen was appointed honorary president when he left office in 2005 though the CIRC report suggests he remained influential.

“Several interviewees confirmed that Hein Verbruggen continued, for some years after the election of his successor, to exercise a decisive influence on major resolutions passed by the UCI,” an exert read.

The Dutchman is also an honorary member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

It’s understood the UCI Congress, which meets in September, has the power to reverse honorary UCI appointments based on a vote.

Twitter: @SophieSmith86

Former UCI president Hein Verbruggen has written an open letter to UCI board members in which he criticises Brian Cookson’s ‘mission’ to get his title of honorary president stripped.

Verbruggen’s 3,357-word letter, which was published in Belgian newspaper De Morgen, talks about Cookson’s apparent obsession with removing his honorary title, while claiming UCI director general Martin Gibbs is the real one making the decisions at the governing body.

>>> Five things you missed from the CIRC report

The Dutchman and his successor Pat McQuaid both claim they emerge from the Cycling Independent Reform Commission’s report with their reputations intact, and Verbruggen now says the report was ‘scandalously biased’.

He wrote: “Mr. Cookson is in for a surprise if he thinks that I will accept this scandalously biased CIRC-report and the same goes for taking away my honorary title.

“Indeed, the last word about the CIRC-report has not yet been written.”

Upon his election as UCI president, Cookson promised to get to the bottom of the sport’s sordid past, commissioning CIRC to uncover the truth about doping and corruption in the sport.

Now that the £3m report has been concluded, Cookson has not ruled out disciplinary action against those involved. But Verbruggen says the president should have more pressing issues to deal with, rather than focus on stripping his title.

>>> What did we actually learn from the CIRC report?

He continued: “After being warned by the media that the success of his presidency would be determined by the outcome of the independent commission Mr. Cookson declared that if the allegations turned out to be true, I would be stripped of my honorary title.

“Now that the allegations have been thoroughly debunked, it appears that Mr Cookson still desperately seeks the withdrawal of my honorary title as the 'trophy' he won by setting up the CIRC.

“Mr. Cookson seems to consider this 'mission' to be the most important element of his presidency. It rather seems to me that he should have more important things on his plate.”

Read Verbruggen's full letter here.

UCI president Brian Cookson says it is “completely inappropriate” for Lance Armstrong to ride several stages of the Tour de France route with former footballer Geoff Thomas this summer.

Speaking at the Sports Industry Breakfast Club, Cookson said the plan was disrespectful to the Tour, claiming that Armstrong would be advised not to take part.

The Texan had his seven Tour titles taken away in 2012 after he admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career and has been banned from taking part in several charity events since.

Cookson said: “I'm sure that Geoff Thomas means well, but frankly I think that's completely inappropriate and disrespectful to the Tour, disrespectful to the current riders, and disrespectful to the UCI and the anti-doping community,” said Cookson.

“I think Lance would be well-advised not to take part in that.”

>>> Lance Armstrong praises CIRC anti-doping report

Former Crystal Palace captain, Thomas, plans to ride the entire route of the 2015 Tour one day ahead of the peloton and has reportedly persuaded Armstrong to join him for a number of stages.

The reaction to the news within professional was mixed, with MTN-Qhubeka boss Doug Ryder and Team Sky’s Sir Dave Brailsford firmly against the decision, while Tinkoff-Saxo’s Steven de Jongh says he has no issue.

UCI president Brian Cookson has not ruled out disciplinary action based on information in the report from the Cycling Independent Reform Commission (CIRC) into doping and corruption in cycling and the UCI, published today.

“I understand that there are witness statements and that was given under condition of confidentiality, however it may be that we can look at some of these contributions with a view to learning some lessons at some point in the future,” Cookson told Cycling Weekly.

“I don’t rule out disciplinary action as a result of some of the information that the commission discovered. So we will be analysing anything that we can, and if we feel that there might be additional information elsewhere in the papers and the files of the commission, we will ask for them to reveal it to us.”

>>> McQuaid and Verbruggen hail CIRC for clearing them of wrongdoing

Despite being 230 pages long and containing testimony from 174 individuals involved with the sport, the report preferred broad statements and generalizations over specific information and details. This anonymity was one condition attached to testimony.

One area that came in for particular criticism was the Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) system, with the report citing claims from doctors interviewed that riders and teams are routinely taking advantage of TUEs in order to use corticosteroids to lose weight and enhance performance.

>>> Lance Armstrong praises CIRC anti-doping report

Cookson explained the UCI was limited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code regarding reform of the TUE system but explained he was keen to address their inappropriate use.

“TUEs are allowed under the WADA Code, but what we’ve got is a particular set of circumstances where TUEs are being used in a way that is problematic,” he said.

“I’m not referring to any individual or case, but it does appear to be the case that TUEs are being used in a way that is probably inappropriate. If it’s the case that a process is open to misuse or abuse, then we’ve got to look at how we can do a better job at controlling that.”

>>> What did we actually learn from the CIRC report?

The UCI also hopes to introduce a ‘fit and proper persons’ test for team officials, doctors and medical staff. Many former riders who have served bans for doping are still involved in the sport; Alexandre Vinkourov and Bjarne Riis are both managing teams.

“We do have some difficulties with statute of limitations and employment law,” Cookson said. “As we’ve seen in other case that the UCI has handled recently, we have to be absolutely certain that if we take action it is legally defensible. We can’t always give a knee jerk reaction to things; that’s what’s gone wrong I would suggest in the past.”

“I do think we’ve got to look again at a whole range of issues, like TUEs, like how and where out of competition testing is carried out, even these dreaded middle of the night anti-doping tests that are proposed; I know they would be unpopular with the riders, but maybe that’s the price we have to pay.

“Continuing to operate in a way which has the support of WADA and the various anti-doping organisatiins and stakeholders, all of those things are important. But I’m also calling on riders, teams, sponsors, suppliers, all to take their responsibilities seriously as well.”

If you were hoping for lurid revelations to emerge from the Cycling Independent Reform Commission's report into cycling's doping culture and allegations of corruption at the UCI, then you might be out of luck.

Stretching to more than 200 pages, the report is a small step towards understanding the complex narrative that it describes as the sport's former 'endemic doping culture', as well as consistent allegations of corruption and failures of governance within cycling's governing body, the UCI.

The report stops short of any charges of corruption within the governing body, but highlights significant levels of incompetence and mismanagement of anti-doping procedures and transparency, as well as substantially covering the UCI's inappropriate relationship with Lance Armstrong.

Here you can find a summary of main findings from the CIRC investigation, as well as some of the Commission's recommendations.

If you want to read the full report, you can download it here.

UCI governance

The report's main findings focus on the UCI's anti-doping practices. In particular, it is highly critical of what it calls an "autocratic" institution. Former presidents Hein Verbruggen and Pat McQuaid are portrayed as frequently circumventing procedure, intervening in independent committees (including the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation) and generally making any decision they desired with no consequences. While the former was credited by interviewees as at least being strong in his decisions, McQuaid was described as a "weak leader".

A "siege mentality" and disputes with other organisations (particularly WADA) are highlighted as examples of poor management and leadership since 1992, with a personal rivalry between Verbruggen and Wada president Dick Pound hampering due process within the UCI.

The CIRC's main criticism is that Verbruggen was acutely aware of the endemic nature of doping and yet continued to try and "contain" it, saying that his methods were only to give "the impression that cycling was trying to address the doping problem". This specifically concerned the UCI's  approach to out-of-competition testing.

The report also highlights the "poor public management of crisis situations" as well as alleging that  management provided favourable treatment to big-name riders such as Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador. It says that this has led to the cycling community's mistrust towards the UCI.

Lack of transparency in elections, threatening and silencing of opposition and a governance deficient in democracy within the organisation also makes for damning reading.

The CIRC acknowledges that while the UCI has had made progress in tackling doping in recent years, its anti-doping regime still does not operate to its full potential. The report notes that micro-dosing to avoid detection by the biological passport is a serious issue that needs combating.

Lance Armstrong

The alleged cover-ups

As you might expect, Lance Armstrong is a significant figure within the report's findings.

Allegations that the UCI attempted to cover-up positive tests from Armstrong in exchange for money have lingered for sometime now, but have never been firmly established.

Specifically, this concerned rumours that Armstrong tested positive at the 2001 Tour de Suisse and paid the UCI to make it go away, as well as the American supposedly contributing to the Vrijman report which began in reaction to allegations in 2005 that he had retroactively tested positive for EPO in the 1999 Tour de France.

CIRC says it has no evidence that money Armstrong donated to the UCI could be connected to cover-ups of tests, and that donated money was all recorded as being for the "fight against doping".

Favourable treatment

The report was unequivocal in its indictment that the UCI had been working in tandem with Armstrong for personal gain.

This particularly concerns the UCI using Armstrong's profile to advance the status of cycling and closing its eyes to whatever else was going on.

In fact, the report highligts eight events from 2001 up to 2012 that should have led to a closer investigation of the American rider.

The report implies that Armstrong was allowed to resume riding early for the 2009 Tour Down Under in exchange for riding the Tour of Ireland (which was organised by people close to McQuaid). It also cited Verbruggen's interference in the 'independent' Vrijman report, and allowing Armstrong's team to amend the report.

Even in 2012, as USADA closed in on Armstrong, the UCI was still hoping the Texan would get off for the sake of image, as this letter between UCI legal counsel Philippe Verbiest and McQuaid shows.

"This may be lethal if it is shown indeed that LA doped," Verbiest wrote. "For the sake of the image UCI has an interest that LA is acquitted as otherwise UCI will be seen as not having done its job properly and as having ‘protected’ LA. In addition the whole LA period, cycling’s pop star and above all cycling’s credibility will be in the drains. On the other hand, for the sake of the fight against doping UCI cannot object (or be seen to object) to the truth coming out.”

TUEs

More than one interviewee stated that they believed Therapeutic Use Exemptions were and are "systematically used" as part of doping. Moreover, one rider who spoke to CIRC claimed that 90 per cent of all TUEs were used for performance enhancement.

The report shows the UCI has been weak in this area, allowing riders to consistently bypass the rules and provide backdated prescriptions for use of corticoids for example, including Armstrong for testing positive at the 1999 Tour.

The furore around Chris Froome's TUE at the Critérium du Dauphiné last year doesn't go unmentioned, as the CIRC recommends a review of how TUEs are granted and that medical issues in the peloton are given closer attention.

Amateur and masters doping

There is a strong belief within the report that doping is spreading to amateur cycling, where testing is much more sparse and access to drugs is much easier through the internet and gyms.

Reports of masters riders performing like pros on EPO, and Gran Fondos plagued with doping, make for a chilling picture of cycling beyond the pro peloton.

"Some professional riders explained that they no longer ride in the Gran Fondos," the report reads, "because they were so competitive due to the number of riders doping."

Youth riders are also still extremely vulnerable to doping, claims CIRC, with incentives to dope to reach the next level. The report urges the UCI to implement education schemes to try to combat the problem.

Technical cheating and race fixing

There was concern expressed in the report over the possibility of a growth of 'technical cheating', with riders adapting or using equipment illegally to make gains. Interviewees told the Commission that technical cheating was becoming more widely used, since the effects of doping has decreased with advances in testing.

The report asks for the UCI to make regulations on equipment clearer, while it briefly addresses the grey area of race fixing. It doesn't make any reference to any specific cases, including the ongoing Alexander Vinokourov and Alexandr Kolobnev bribery allegations.

Women's cycling

CIRC says it "regrets" that it couldn't investigate doping within the women's scene, but said that it believed that while doping existed, it wasn't as widespread as on the men's scene. However, it warned that procedures should be put in place now to prevent it becoming a major issue.

Worryingly, the Commission said it was given examples of female athletes being exploited financially and sexually by management staff that is primarily made-up of men, and encouraged the UCI to investigate.

Recommendations

• UCI should work closer with governments and authorities
• Doctors found guilty of doping practices should have their general practice licences investigated
• Leaks, or "public shaming" of alleged dopers should be stamped out to conserve resources and maintain credibility
• Conduct a "prevalence study" of doping in amateur cycling
• Adopt qualitative testing, rather than quantitative
• Use night-time testing rule exception for suspicious riders
• Systematic retrospective testing and restesting as a deterrent
• Setup an independent "whistleblower desk" to allow people to come forward with information
• Investigate those involved in doping as soon as possible as well as those in who may have been involved in the past (subject to statute of limitations)

Notable interviewees

174 of those interviewed by CIRC allowed their names to be published (list available in report), including riders, former riders, team personnel, UCI affiliates, national federation staff and journalists. The Commission didn't state whether the testimonies would be handed on to the UCI for further investigation if it called for it.

Leading names include:

• Chris Froome (Team Sky)
• Nicole Cooke (former pro rider)
• Lance Armstrong (former pro rider)
• Tyler Hamilton (former pro rider)
• Scott Mercier (former pro rider)
• Riccardo Ricco (former pro rider)
• Michael Rasmussen (former pro rider)
• Bobby Julich (team personnel/former pro rider)
• Bjarne Riis (team personnel/former pro rider)
• Alexander Vinokourov (team personnel/former pro rider)
• Jonathan Vaughters (team personnel/former pro rider)
• Brian Cookson (UCI president)
• Hein Verbruggen (former president)
• Pat McQuaid (former president)
• Dick Pound (Wada)
• David Walsh (journalist)

Following the UCI's announcement of stronger anti-doping rules, its president Brian Cookson admits there is still some way to go in the reform of professional cycling, with responsible action needing to be taken against those caught cheating.

The new rules allow the UCI to suspend teams for up to 12 months if three or more cyclists are caught cheating, which comes in the wake of the Astana doping scandal, where a string of riders from the Kazakh team failed drugs test at the end of 2014.

The UCI Licence Commission granted Alexandre Vinokourov's team a WorldTour licence in December because its own rules prevented it from doing otherwise, therefore avoiding an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), as happened with Katusha's exclusion on 'ethical grounds' in 2013.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly in Berlin, Cookson insisted the UCI License Commission had reached the only legally defensible conclusion by renewing Astana's WorldTour licence, despite protestations from riders and fans alike.

"You can't impose rules by breaking rules," he said. "In the Astana case the Licence Commission could only take into consideration what information they had. Since then new information has come to light and we've asked CONI [the Italian Olympic Committee] for that information. We've also got the University of Lausanne doing an audit of the team and we've put them on a very close watch.

"You have to make sure that when you take disciplinary action you do it in a way that is legally defensible. It's not about the money or the legal fees – I'll throw money at the problem like that – it's about what happens when the appeal is lodged.

"It's about when that [appeal] goes to CAS and making sure that you win to set a precedent, not lose and set a negative precedent. We've got to do it in the right way, by taking legal advice, and that's what we are doing."

The renewal of Astana's licence, and the claims made against the team in the Padova report, prompted several cyclists, including Team Sky's Peter Kennaugh and Lotto-Soudal's André Greipel, to voice their dismay at the decision on Twitter.

And Cookson says he welcomes such reactions from within the cycling community, but asks for patience as the governing body tightens its net on doping.

"I respect the riders' points of view and I wish more riders would speak out because I welcome that," he said. "I'm sure the riders understand that we have to impose the rules by following the rules, not by breaking them. I ask for patience and their understanding. We are pursuing these things but we have to do it in the right way and the story is far from over."

He added: "This is not just a matter for governing bodies, it's for everyone in the sport – the teams, the sponsors and riders all have responsibility and I'm asking them all to work with us and grow our sport.

"We are doing a lot more to protect clean athletes and enforce the new era in our sport. I don't delude myself – I know there will always be people who want to cheat, but we are tightening the net and we will continue to do that. The fact that we keep catching people shows that the system is working."

Astana will be a guinea pig to test the UCI's reforms for 2017. After suffering five doping cases, the team agreed to an internal audit and a set of "operational requirements" in order to keep its WorldTour licence for 2015.

"They will have to comply to the [internal operational requirements], that most of the teams will have to follow in 2017," UCI President Brian Cookson told Cycling Weekly.

"It's coming out of the current reform of pro cycling. We've applied that to Astana from 2015. The teams will have to look after their riders more effectively and demonstrate that they are not putting too much demands on their riders with race days, [demonstrate] skills performances, the support and coaching...

"All of those things are designed to make sure Astana is living up to its responsibilities."

The governing body renewed Astana’s WorldTour racing licence last Wednesday after some delay. The Kazakh team had five doping cases, two from its professional team that includes Tour de France winner Vincenzo Nibali. The UCI, however, was able to take advantage of the situation as it prepares for its 2017 reforms.

Astana still 'very much under scrutiny', says UCI president Brian Cookson

Astana could still lose its WorldTour licence before start of 2015 season depending on Padua anti-doping investigation evidence

The UCI is planning sweeping changes of the sport for 2017, including fewer and smaller teams, a new points system and a streamlined calendar. Part of those changes will include rules or “cahier des charges” for how teams must operate.

The 10 requirements includes a cap on the number of race days, the number of cyclists in a team and sets a limit on how many riders one coach may handle.

Teams Ag2r La Mondiale, Cannondale-Garmin, Etixx-QuickStep, Giant-Alpecin, FDJ, IAM Cycling, Orica-GreenEdge and Trek Factory Racing already volunteered to follow the requirements for 2015. Astana and Neri Sottoli, which obtained its second division licence after doping cases, will become guinea pigs along with the eight WorldTour teams.

Sky and all other top teams must follow the rules in 2016 and starting in 2017 they will receive sanctions if they fail to follow them.

First, Astana be tested. The Institute of Sport Sciences of the University of Lausanne (ISSUL) will audit the team through the end of February.

“The institute will be carrying out a detailed audit, looking at the circumstances of their doping cases and determining at what extent the team and management was responsible,” Cookson said.

“It will look at the team's internal structure, the cultural, the management system to understand if it is adequate. The team will have to be open to interview, everyone on the team will need to be available.”

Astana will pay for the audit, taking place through early February. It paves the way for 2016, when the UCI will require all other top teams receive the ISSUL seal of approval to receive a racing licence.

Team Astana cleared one hurdle when it received its WorldTour licence for 2015, but cycling's president, Brian Cookson warned that the team could lose it before the season begins in earnest based on the Padua investigation.

"They are very much under probation and scrutiny, and they won't be given another chance," UCI president Cookson told Cycling Weekly.

"We want to see what in the Padua files. We are all concerned when we read these revelations in the newspapers, but we can't take that as evidence, we have to see the files."

Last night, the UCI renewed Astana's licence to race in the first division for 2015. It had asked its licence commission to review the Kazakh team's status after five recent doping cases.

Maxim Iglinskiy, who helped Vincenzo Nibali win the Tour de France in July, tested positive for EPO. His younger brother Valentin also failed an EPO test. Three riders from the team's continental third division team, also called Astana, failed steroid anti-doping tests.

"It's still a very troublesome time. It's a great frustration," Cookson continued. "There are still people who are not taking seriously the need to bring about a new era of protecting clean athletes."

Alexandre Vinokourov manages the team. Besides winning the London Olympic road race, he is known for starting Astana in 2006 in the wake of the Operación Puerto doping scandal and failing a blood doping test at the 2007 Tour de France.

Based on documents from a criminal inquiry closed last week in Padua, the La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper reported that the 41-year-old Kazakh worked with banned doctor Michele Ferrari both as a cyclist and as a manager. The sports daily also said that Vinokourov asked for 10 to 12 of his riders to be followed by Ferrari for 2011.

La Gazzetta reported that 17 current and former Astana cyclists, out of 38 total, worked with Ferrari in 2010 and 2011. The riders include Roman Kreuziger, now with Tinkoff-Saxo and Michele Scarponi.

The team and Ferrari deny the report, part of which is now in the hands of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI). The CONI already banned Scarponi, Giovanni Visconti and Filippo Pozzato based on the Padua inquiry.

Cookson said that if the new reports are true, the UCI could stop the team in turquoise from racing.

"This is the beginning of the process and not the end of the process. The commission didn't take into account of the recent revelations from Italy. The UCI has asked the CONI for that file, over 500 pages. We want to see what's in it,” explained Cookson

"Subjective to what the licence commission might decide, a minimum sanction could be that the team could be reduced to the Pro Continental level and be dependent on wildcards for the WorldTour races. A maximum sanction could be that the team's licence would be removed all together."

UCI president Brian Cookson has already started thinking of ways to make cycling more attractive following the International Olympic Committee’s vote in favour of scrapping the Games’ 28-sport cap.

From the 2020 Games in Tokyo there will be a cap on the number of athletes, at 10,500, and events, at 310, rather than limiting the number of sports.

With the reforms designed to reduce the cost of staging the Olympics and increase interest in the events on offer, there is a worry that track cycling could be one of the events to feel the brunt of cuts in future Olympiads.

It seems likely that Tokyo will look to add baseball and softball to its 2020 programme due to the popularity of the sports in the country, but in order for host cities to make such decision events in other sports will have to be reduced.

One of the recommendations put forward to the IOC was to foster gender equality by including mixed-gender team events and Cookson told Reuters that cycling would have to consider such changes.

“Men and women competing together, there is no history of that, maybe a team relay,” he said.

“We'd need to do some test events and to consult with the national federations, what would work and not work.

“Mixing men and women at the same event in the same time... If that is something the IOC feels would make cycling look attractive we need to look into that.”

Velodromes are seen to be one of the more prohibitive buildings to construct specifically for an Olympic Games, due to the cost per event ratio and the legacy of the building in countries where the track cycling scene is not strong.

At £94m, the London 2012 track effectively cost £9.4m for each of the ten events held under the curved roof but has since held World Cup and Revolution Series events, as well as being open to the public.

With British Cycling’s track team benefitting from millions of pounds of UK Sport funding, largely due to the sport’s Olympic status, there could be cause for concern as to the security of such backing if a host nation decides to reduce its track programme.

Equally, the UCI benefit from funding from the IOC thanks to cycling’s presence at the Games, so making cycling more accessible and entertaining is the first step for the UCI continuing to receive such support.

After WADA president Sir Craig Reedie claimed his organisation did not agree with jailing dopers, his UCI counterpart Brian Cookson said he was in favour of the draft bill in Germany.

As CW reported earlier, Reedie believes dopers should be sanctioned within the rules of their sport, but Cookson insists doping should be treated as a criminal offence and claims cycling has made it harder for dopers to prosper.

“Doping is a criminal offense, and so you should pursue and punish it harshly,” he told Spanish newspaper AS. “With the new WADA code, penalties of four years for the first positive have been established.

“I believe with conviction that our sport is one of the cleanest. And, of course, we have not stopped investigating - we have the biological passport, checks in and out of competition, and reanalysis of these tests...technology and detection methods have evolved in recent years to catch liars.

“It is very difficult to cheat the system, but cheaters are still striving to try.”

Cookson also announced that the UCI’s ‘Truth Commission’ could publish the results of its research in by March 2015.

The former British Cycling president again admitted that Lance Armstrong’s lifetime ban could be reduced if the evidence he provides to the independent inquiry is ‘helpful’, having previously said there may be a route to redemption for the banned rider.

“I do not know what conclusions will be drawn [from the commission], though I would draw a line when the results are known,” he said. “Maybe in the first third of 2015 the outcome of this research will be known.

“Lance Armstrong is banned for life, but I would find what he has to say very interesting and it would be a key contribution [to the investigation]. He talked with the panel and will do so again. If it helps, his suspension could decrease.”

Source: AS

Lance Armstrong attempts to qualify for the Beer Mile World Championships, and fails (video)

The banned cyclist pulls out after one lap and one beer.

Motorist flashes fake police ID at cyclist after near miss (video)

A motorist in Aberdeen claims he is a policeman when a cyclist confronts him about his dangerous overtaking move.

Flanders spectator permanently paralysed after Vansummeren crash

UCI president Brian Cookson says introducing a minimum wage for female cyclists would be ‘counterproductive’, and may lead to more professional teams reverting to amateur status.

Upon election in September 2013, Cookson promised to bring in the minimum wage within 12 months, but has reportedly been advised against it by women at the UCI.

Speaking at an event at the Rapha store in Manchester on Thursday (November 13) he said: “The women who have been involved in the Women’s Road Commission have told me that the result of that would not be 500 women suddenly being paid the minimum wage; they’ve told me that actually most of the teams that currently present themselves as professional teams would fold or re-register as amateur teams, so they wouldn’t end up paying those women anything at all anyway.

“It’s a bit of a chick and an egg [situation], I’m told, and passing a simple rule at this point in time could potentially be counterproductive. But it does remain an important objective.”

In the male UCI WorldTour, the minimum wage for a rider is €35,000 (£27,800), whereas elite female cyclists reportedly earn just €20,000 (£16,000) per year.

Commonwealth champion Lizzie Armitstead called on Cookson to introduce a minimum wage to the women’s scene back in October.

But Cookson advised that women’s races need to become longer and more difficult to make them more exciting to watch and ride before any plans for wages and a women’s Tour de France can be introduced.

“There is no reason why women’s road races should not be harder and longer,” he said. “Most women’s races are well within the distances in the regulations and it’s certainly something that we could look at.”

He added: “The Tour de France organisers tried [a long women’s race] to a lesser extent before and it was a disaster. If you suddenly did it one year it would be counterproductive, it would put back the development of women’s cycling…I would like to see a week-long women’s Tour de France, a challenging event, some mountain stages and so on. I think these things need to be changed incrementally.”

Source: Guardian

"There is potential for redemption for Lance Armstrong" says Brian Cookson

Brian Cookson: A year as UCI president

After spending 12 months in office as the president of the Union Cycliste Internationale, Brian Cookson spoke to Cycle Sport

Brian Cookson: Team Sky is failing UK talent

UCI president and former member of the team's operating board says homegrown riders are not being developed by the squad.

UCI president Brian Cookson has said that there is a possible route to redemption for Lance Armstrong, which depends on how he has cooperated with the Cycling Independent Reform Commission's (CIRC) investigation into past doping in the sport.

“I think that there is potential for redemption for him [Armstrong] and anyone, really" Cookson told VeloNews.

"I think it all depends on what he said to the commission and if he was prepared to talk about his or other people’s involvement and whether he’s genuinely contrite and deserving of redemption.”

Armstrong was stripped of the seven Tour de France titles he won between 1999 and 2005 and received a lifetime ban from the sport in 2012, after a United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) investigation which used sworn testimony from former teammates of the Texan.

Armstrong subsequently admitted to prolific doping through his career in early 2013, while it was reported in July 2014 that he had sat down for talks with the CIRC panel.

“I think it has to be said that what Lance did, not that he was the only one or only one involved, but it all depends on what Lance said to the commission and what they come up with," said Cookson.

"We have to acknowledge and approve of any redemption in the sentence in the sanctions that he got. I think that [USADA CEO] Travis Tygart has been saying the same sort of thing anyway and I don’t think there is any conflict there between USADA, but let’s see what Lance has been saying to the commission.”

The CIRC panel is due to release a report on its findings in January 2015, and Cookson says that the aim is to expose the wider culture of doping in that era beyond just what the US Postal Service Team were doing.

“Armstrong and US Postal weren’t the only team involved in doping,” he said.

"All of the information that comes out of that [the CIRC report] will be helpful going forward. We need to have a mechanism that can look at the sport and decide who can stay in the sport and who needs to be thrown out.

“And when we have that mechanism, it needs to be robust and sustainable in court, and I can guarantee that if we excluded someone from their main source of income, that they’ll challenge it. So we need to make sure that what we do is truly defensible.”

UPDATE: Armstrong confirmed to CyclingNews on Tuesday that he would be sitting down with the CIRC panel once again in the coming weeks to help with their investigation.

He said: "I've always said I will make myself fully available to an international commission tasked with helping our sport heal and move forward after multiple generations of rampant doping.”

Armstrong will be hoping to have his lifetime ban reduced, with the UCI having offered to give reduced bans to those who confess and cooperate with their investigation.

USA Cycling block Armstrong participation in Hincapie Gran Fondo

Brian Cookson: Team Sky is failing UK talent

UCI president and former member of the team's operating board says homegrown riders are not being developed by the squad.

Brian Cookson has been head of the cycle sport's governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), for 13 months now. Long enough to become established, long enough to make changes, and long enough to start assessing his impact on cycling’s governing body.

On June 4, 2013 Cookson announced he would run for president of the UCI against the incumbent, Pat McQuaid. Previously, Cookson served as president of British Cycling from 1997 until 2013, a time of enormous change and sporting success. He was elected onto the UCI Management Committee in 2009, and became president of the UCI Cyclo-Cross Commission in 2009 and president of the Road Commission in 2011. What made him run for president of the UCI?

“It was because the trust had gone. The Lance Armstrong revelations were bad enough, but there was a widespread suspicion that the UCI might have been in some way complicit in what happened. It all came to a head for me during the 2013 World Cyclo-Cross Championships in Louisville, when Pat McQuaid was booed during a medal ceremony.

"I thought, somebody’s got to do something to try and change this, to change how the UCI is seen by fans. I love cycling, I’m passionate about it. It was terrible to see the governing body perceived like that. Changes had to be made, so I put my name forward.”

Cookson was elected, and there were things he did straightaway to help restore faith in the UCI, and to restore the UCI’s faith in itself. “I phoned the head of WADA [World Anti-Doping Agency] on my first day. I wanted to assure them that we were both on the same side, and I started rebuilding bridges with other bodies involved in cycling as well.

“The default position between the UCI and any other organisation was a battle. It was a fight, a scrap. Whether it was WADA or [Tour de France organiser] ASO — the very people the UCI should have been working with — it was in a dispute with them half the time. We had to put all that to bed, and a change of leader helped do that.

"I hope I have a different approach to my predecessor. I don’t say Pat [McQuaid] did everything wrong, far from it. He did a lot of good work in the sport. But we have rebuilt a good relationship with WADA now, and we’re getting a good strong relationship with ASO, as well as working hard on a range of reforms.”

Cookson already seems to have drawn to an end the public and very damaging war of words with WADA, the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD). His next step will be to introduce a measure that should distance the UCI from doping cases entirely.

“We are reviewing all our anti-doping procedures, and making the cycling anti-doping foundation completely independent of the UCI. The next thing we’re doing is setting up an independent tribunal for doping cases so that they don’t have to be referred to national federations, so they [the national federations] don’t get themselves into conflict of interest situations.

"The situation now, with the checks and balances we’ve put in, like the anti-doping foundation, means that neither I nor anyone in the UCI gets involved with who gets tested, what teams get tested, and what races are tested. The only time I know we have a positive test is when it’s about to go to the hearing.”

Cookson believes that transgression doesn’t necessarily mean a person is out. He is practical enough to know that there are people working in cycling who may have doped, but they have skills and they can still contribute to a clean sport. People who maybe wish they could have competed clean.

“In any system of justice you have to have a road to redemption of some sort. We can’t reinvent history, but we have to avoid the sport going down that road again. In any walk of life you will get people who try to cheat the system, be they a banker or an accountant or in a sport. What we have to do as an organisation is reduce cheating to a minimum, and deal with it effectively and equitably."

Brian Cookson's full interview with Chris Sidwells is in the December 2014 issue of Cycle Sport magazine, available now.

Brian Cookson: Team Sky is failing UK talent

UCI president and former member of the team's operating board says homegrown riders are not being developed by the squad.

Brian Cookson: 'New and exciting era' does not have place for Tour of Beijing

"You have to develop cycling in countries in a way that's appropriate to them" says Brian Cookson

UCI president Brian Cookson believes Team Sky has abandoned one of its original pledges of seeking to develop young British riders.

Cookson was a member of the operating board of the team’s owners, Tour Racing Limited, from its inception in 2010 until he was elected into his current position last September.

But during an interview for CW's  sister magazine, Cycle Sport, Cookson bemoaned the team’s changed position on blooding home-grown talent.

“I’m reluctant to criticise Sir David Brailsford in any way because he has done amazing things with British Cycling and with Team Sky, but I feel that the team isn’t quite staying true to one of the reasons it was formed,” said Cookson.

Sky’s 2010 line-up contained eight British riders. The 2014 team still had eight British riders, but the riders from other countries had grown from 18 to 20.

With regards to the initial stated aims of developing British talent, the team's second youngest rider, Josh Edmondson, is rumoured to be joining MTN-Qhubeka for 2015.

And arguably the most promising young British talents in the past five years – Adam and Simon Yates – turned professional this season with the Australian Orica-GreenEdge squad.

"I mean, the Yates brothers should be in Team Sky," Cookson added.

See this week's Cycling Weekly (October 23), and the December 2014 issue of Cycle Sport - both in the shops now - for more with Brian Cookson. 

Team Sky eyes Yates brothers for 2016

Team Sky boss David Brailsford says signing Adam and Simon Yates would 'make absolute sense'

UCI president Brian Cookson announces Cycling Independent Reform Commission

Three members of new independent commission appointed by UCI will 'investigate the problems cycling has faced in recent years'

David Brailsford resigns from British Cycling post

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) cut the Tour of Beijing from its 2015 WorldTour calendar and ended its four-year Chinese experiment with mixed results.

UCI president Brian Cookson spoke at the 2014 Road World Championships in Spain yesterday, saying that there was a "new and exciting era" with the planned reforms for 2017, but gave Beijing no place on the calendar.

"I'd like to thank the organisers," he said, "and the role [the race] played in helping to build the profile of road racing in Asia."

When Cookson took over the presidency last year, the writing appeared on the wall for the five-day stage race around the capital city and its northern countryside because of its ties to former president Pat McQuaid. McQuaid began the Global Cycling Promotion (GCP), a race organising arm of the UCI in charge of the Tour of Beijing, as a way of putting money in the organisation's bank account.

The GCP introduced the race in 2011, the wake of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and tried to create similar stage races in Hangzhou, the country's southeast, and in Russia. Those races never got going and the Tour of Beijing appeared doomed when Cookson started campaigning. At a visit last year in Beijing, he and GCP Director Alain Rumpf appeared uncomfortable sitting in the same press conference together talking about the race.

UCI president Brian Cookson (left) and Alain Rumpf at last year's Tour of Beijing

Cookson had written in his election manifesto that the GCP's "operations and status are unclear even to those within the UCI" and that, given its part of the UCI, it creates possible conflicts of interest with other race promoters.

Tony Martin won twice in 2011 and 2012, and Beñat Intxausti (Movistar) won in 2013, but roadside fans were always limited in numbers. The 2014 edition, runs from October 10 to 14, and marks the last WorldTour race on the calendar. However, instead of parachuting in a top-level stage race in 2015, the UCI wants to develop cycling at grass-roots level.

"It's not only about the elite level," Cookson at the 2013 Tour of Beijing. "One of the things I said in my campaign, it's not just enough to parachute in with a European pro model. You have to develop cycling in those countries in a way that's appropriate to them and that maximises the benefits for everybody.

"China has had great track riders, I know there's a large number of covered velodromes… There's a huge potential here. One of the things we did in Great Britain was to target the track in the Olympics because there are far more medals to be won on the track than the road.

"The good thing is that there's so many disciplines – road, track, BMX and mountain biking – China can be a strong nation in all of those if it puts the work in developing all of those activities."

With the Tour of Beijing in the bin, the UCI is left with only the World Championships to organise. The 2014 edition started on Sunday in Ponferrada, in Spain's northwest.

Tour of Beijing to end after 2014 edition

UCI president Brian Cookson says ending of race after four years is "not a disaster".