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Very bad news

Mar 19, 2009
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Via the Cycling Fans Anonymous blog...the UCI presidential election is this fall and it looks like Pat McQuaid has another four years sewn up. In 2005 there were some strong candidates who opposed him but Pat was elected with some shady assistance from Hein Verbruggen. This time he should be unopposed and his election a formality.
http://www.cyclismag.com/article.php?sid=5132#ancre1

As for Verbruggen...CFA says that according to Walsh and Ballester's new book "Le Sale Tour" some people who get correspondence from McQuaid say the writing style is actually that of Verbruggen. No surprise there.
 
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I guess they are happy with the direction of cycling in the last few years? Oh well, I guess GM didn't get rid of their leadership in time either. Actually, seeing the UCI go down wouldn't cause me to shed a tear. I don't think it will, but here is to hope!
 
Mar 10, 2009
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The UCI gets more powerful all the time and Pat has another big Olympic related title too.
Governments all get bombed by the masses but seldom do the masses ever off a better replacement. I read a lot of opinions that the UCI is destroying cycling or other negative comments but cycling gets stronger every year as a world sport. Rider salaries are better than they ever were and even a lot of continental pro riders can live on their cycling wages. Mean incomes for pro continental team riders has gone up a lot. I think it is now between $40 and $60 k where it was closer to $20,000 at the start of the pro-tour.
More is being done in cycling than any sport to combat doping. I know that doping has been rampant and institutional but things are getting better.
It is possible we might get Pro tour races in North America.
I see what the UCI has accomplished and it is more good than bad. I have met Mr. McQuaid and I like him. I prefer the devil I know since I understand how this one works. I haven't seen your candidates.
 
Jul 3, 2009
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Sort of Yes, if we were speaking Irish...Gaelic(culture) or Gaeilge(launguage) is the Irish for.....Irish..As we are on an english speaking forum the language spoken in Ireland would be refeered to as Irish just as french is spoken in France and german in Germany(Gaelic dialects are also spoken in Scotland and Isle of Man)
 
Mar 10, 2009
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BroDeal said:
He said civilized countries. :p
:D
Irish2009 said:
Sort of Yes, if we were speaking Irish...Gaelic(culture) or Gaeilge(launguage) is the Irish for.....Irish..As we are on an english speaking forum the language spoken in Ireland would be refeered to as Irish just as french is spoken in France and german in Germany(Gaelic dialects are also spoken in Scotland and Isle of Man)

I see....And America, Australia and New Zealand? :eek::)
 

Eva Maria

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May 24, 2009
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Master50 said:
The UCI gets more powerful all the time and Pat has another big Olympic related title too.
Governments all get bombed by the masses but seldom do the masses ever off a better replacement. I read a lot of opinions that the UCI is destroying cycling or other negative comments but cycling gets stronger every year as a world sport. Rider salaries are better than they ever were and even a lot of continental pro riders can live on their cycling wages. Mean incomes for pro continental team riders has gone up a lot. I think it is now between $40 and $60 k where it was closer to $20,000 at the start of the pro-tour.
More is being done in cycling than any sport to combat doping. I know that doping has been rampant and institutional but things are getting better.
It is possible we might get Pro tour races in North America.
I see what the UCI has accomplished and it is more good than bad. I have met Mr. McQuaid and I like him. I prefer the devil I know since I understand how this one works. I haven't seen your candidates.

Mcquaid is a dirtbag. Always has been. He was a dirtbag when he broke the Boycott and raced in South Africa under a fake name, he was a dirtbag when he used UCI funds to fund his campaign, every time he slams a rider from breaking the Omerta he confirms that he is a dirtbag. Salaries have not gone up. McQuaid and his mentor's Verbruggen's unwillingness to address the doping issue have driven sponsors from the sport.
 
Jul 3, 2009
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Eva Maria said:
Mcquaid is a dirtbag. Always has been. He was a dirtbag when he broke the Boycott and raced in South Africa under a fake name, he was a dirtbag when he used UCI funds to fund his campaign, every time he slams a rider from breaking the Omerta he confirms that he is a dirtbag. Salaries have not gone up. McQuaid and his mentor's Verbruggen's unwillingness to address the doping issue have driven sponsors from the sport.

I'm Irish and I couldn't agree more. He brings nothing new to the table and is tainted by Verbrugeen/South Africa thing.
 
Apr 24, 2009
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This situation is depressing but not surprising.

I disagree that they have not addressed the doping issue. They have. They have basically said that if you don't like it then get out of cycling. They haven't ignored it. On the contrary, they have actively tried to sweeep it under the carpet. The UCI tried to sue Greg Lemond when he accused them of being corrupt. The UCI forced the ASO to let Virenque ride the Tour when they initially said he was not welcome. That's how they have addressed the issue.

A lot of people have also forgotten how the UCI did a very quick U-turn on having the keirin in the Olympics when, coincidently, at exactly the same time the UCI received huge payments from the Japanese Federation to be used for 'cycling development'.
 
Agree with the majority here. Four years ago Sylvia Shenk made a run for UCI head. She was a no-nonsense person with an intention of straightening up the rules and cleaning things up with a much more stern approach.

She got nowhere.

There are some things the UCI has done, using Michael Ashenden at times for example. And I think Anne Gripper is an intelligent woman with good intentions. But the UCI needs to be overhauled, completely. We could make a huge list of everything that's wrong with it, and wrong with the sport that the UCI could fix, and yet little happens.

I'm don't want a certain rider to enter this discussion, at all, but if David Walsh really wants to show his investigative journalistic skills, the next book he writes will be about corruption and doping in the sport overall, with a big fat chapter on the UCI.
 
Irish2009 said:
:rolleyes:You forgot Canada.
Okay, I'm from America, where we speak American (a bastradized version of the Queen's English, for those of you on the other side of the pond). I also speak some Spanish, though I'm not fluent. Oh, not Spain Spanish, I mean South/Central American Spanish (though not Argentinian, that's some weird Spanish/Italian sounding thingy!)

You know, I have no idea though what language they speak in Canada, eh? ;)

Here's a cute little story for you all. A friend of mine from Paris (yep, completely "rude" "blunt" typical Parisian in every aspect. Think, Laurent Fignon. Smart, jovial at times, brusque most others) took a trip to Quebec. We had this fun conversation when he got back, and with a dour look on his face.

Alpe: So, how did you like their francais?

Mr.Paris: It's not French! It's not French. It's not French. It's not French. It's not French. It's not French.

Alpe: No?

Mr.Paris: NO! It's not French!

Alpe (trying to be coy): So then, uh, what language did you speak when you were there?

Mr.Paris (bitter): I told them to speak English!!!

Needless to say, it didn't go over very well. They apparently detested him for it, and the feeling was pretty mutual.
 
Jun 22, 2009
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Forgive me if I'm being a smart aleck too soon, but do Canadians speak Canadian? Do Belgians speak Belch? I think the Swiss speak French, Italian, and German but not Swiss. Americans speak...oh, we speak English. Mexicans speak Spanish. Brazilians speak Portuguese. And the list goe on and on and on. But besides that, why is McQuaid so terrible? That's a real question. I hear people grouse about him, but rarely do they include specifics. Cycling is cleaner than it was; the UCI has made peace with the ASO and its cronies (a very big deal); cycling is now more international, meaning the third world countries are being included, though, honestly, I don't care much if Namibia or Zaire or the Peoples Republic of the Congo have national cycling programs or are represented in the Olympics or are included in anything that I like. I know what I say sounds horrible, but I really don't see how cycling is better off by reaching out to the hinterlands. Most of those "developing" countries don't have paved roads or money enough to feed their population. Let 'em stick to running and futbol, sports which suit their circumstances. Other than that, Mr. McQuaid seems to be OK...oh, I like the ProTour, at least the way it was two years ago when it controlled all the races.
 

Eva Maria

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May 24, 2009
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Alpe d'Huez said:
I'm don't want a certain rider to enter this discussion, at all, but if David Walsh really wants to show his investigative journalistic skills, the next book he writes will be about corruption and doping in the sport overall, with a big fat chapter on the UCI.

That is what "Le Sale Tour" is about.