Seeking re-election amid fallout from the lance Armstrong doping affair, UCI President Pat McQuaid insisted Monday that the high-profile case should not be an issue in the campaign.
McQuaid's opponent, British federation leader Brian Cookson, has offered cycling a fresh start after the damaging case fuelled claims the International Cycling Union protected Armstrong from doping allegations during his 1999-2005 run of Tour de France wins.
McQuaid, who became UCI leader in 2005 after Armstrong first retired, told The Associated Press that Armstrong “and issues related to him” should not affect the September vote.
“I don't think he should be a factor,” McQuaid said in an interview to launch his campaign manifesto Monday. “This election should not be about what happened 10 years ago. This election should be about cycling today and cycling tomorrow.”
McQuaid's key pledges include to “preserve the new culture and era of clean cycling,” promote women's cycling and continue developing the sport outside of its traditional European base.
As an International Olympic Committee member since 2010, McQuaid also suggests that cycling needs to maintain a voice within Olympic decision-making, including adding new medal events at the Summer Games.
Still, Cookson has said he is supported by cycling officials who are dissatisfied with how the UCI dealt with allegations about Armstrong's doping, which was finally detailed in a report by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency last October.
In May, McQuaid told the AP that the UCI was working with the World Anti-Doping Agency to create an independent panel which will examine longstanding claims that the governing body covered up suspicious samples from Armstrong, and how it accepted $125,000 in donations from the now-disgraced rider.
“I expect it (the audit panel) to be up and running before September,” the Irish official said Monday, adding that he hoped Armstrong would “remain out” of the campaign.
McQuaid suggested that cycling officials worldwide were not as concerned with the Armstrong case.
“They see it as a scandal that has happened in the past,” he said. “They are more interested in how they see the UCI developing the sport. That is the basis I am standing on and there is work still to continue.”
McQuaid seeks a third four-year term in office at the UCI's election congress on Sept. 27, on the sidelines of the road world championships in Florence, Italy.