William Fotheringham bashes the UCI
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Comments
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The UCI really have made a rod for their own back's with their charter - as empty gestures go, it's one of the best they've come up with (so far).
First proudly stating that nobody who hadn't signed it could ride the Tour, and now back-pedalling furiously that the Worlds Organising Committee is asking for the same to apply to their own race.0 -
And Jeremy Whittle....
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 547052.ece
I love the mental image of McQuaid being laughed out of a press conference. If it makes the Germans burst into laughter, the UCI Charter must be one hell of a joke.0 -
I'm surprised it's taken this long for the penny to drop, to realise that the UCI is headed by people who have taken their eyes of the ball. They've spent way too much time designing the failed pro tour, trying to take control of skateboarding and bringing in BMX into the Olympics.
Meanwhile they're deliberately ignored the doping problem, they've done little to combat it despite obvious steps, preferring a few headline stunts like a war of words with Dick Pound, or the worthless charter.
Bettini comes out of this looking very bad. I'd always seen through his nice-guy image, but now it's in plain sight, he can't even bring himself to sign worthless document which everyone else has signed. Thanks to him, the sport is touching new lows.0 -
Kléber wrote:I'm surprised it's taken this long for the penny to drop, to realise that the UCI is headed by people who have taken their eyes of the ball. They've spent way too much time designing the failed pro tour, trying to take control of skateboarding and bringing in BMX into the Olympics.
Meanwhile they're deliberately ignored the doping problem, they've done little to combat it despite obvious steps, preferring a few headline stunts like a war of words with Dick Pound, or the worthless charter.
I'd say part of their problem is that spent far too little time paying attention to BMX when it was the highest profile form of cycling in the world and still one of the key entry points for youngsters getting into cycling - you can name your own list of top flight riders who started out in BMX, I'll start you with Robbie McEwen, Chris Hoy and Shanaze Reade.
If they'd been a little less obsessed with trying to keep the flame of a false past alive the sport might not be where it is now. After all, the doping problem only continues as long as it has done because the UCI was happy to allow the few to be caught and tacitly accepted it as part of the sport which they glorified.
The UCI has failed to move with the times repeatedly and this is just the latest case.0 -
True. BMX has been a booming sport but something that has been done for fun and so is less of a structured sport, the idea of the UCI getting involved, well think of a grandpa trying to advise a DJ on his playlist. I don't think the likes of McDuffer can bring much...
So I'm all in favour of BMX but the UCI's strongly associated with pro road cycling and yet it's managed to let its main sport implode. Sponsors are fleeing, TV audiences are going away. If this continues, the UCI won't have enough money to help BMX anyway...0 -
While we are at it, their handling of the Hour has been a disgrace too.0
