BRIAN Cookson’s hopes of serving a second term as president of cycling’s world governing body have ended in embarrassing fashion as he was beaten 37 votes to eight by French rival David Lappartient.
The former British Cycling president has run the International Cycling Union (UCI) since 2013 and wanted another four-year spell in charge before retiring at 70.
The heavy defeat is a reflection of what many observers have described as a lacklustre campaign and the damage done to Cookson’s reputation by the negative headlines that have dogged British Cycling, the organisation he ran from 1997 to 2013.
All the indications coming into yesterday’s vote in Bergen were that it was too close to call, although both camps claimed they thought they had enough to win.
President of the European Cycling Union, 44-year-old Lappartient was always expected to win a large chunk of Europe’s 15 votes but his charisma and energy have travelled much further than that.
While Cookson’s appeal was based on steady progress and his attempts to restore the UCI’s relations with key partners, such as the World Anti-Doping Agency, Lappartient promised a lot more, a lot sooner.
He also benefited from Cookson’s difficulties at home, as allegations of bullying and discrimination at British Cycling while he was still in charge were aired in the British media and parliament.
British Cycling and its professional off-shoot Team Sky have been under a UK Anti-Doping investigation for alleged wrongdoing for a year.
Having helped launch the team, the sport’s most dominant outfit, Cookson’s credibility on anti-doping issues, however unfairly, was affected.
This all played very badly for him, particularly as some within the sport already bristled at what they considered an Anglophone takeover at the UCI’s Aigle headquarters.
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