My election as President of the world cycling federation - the UCI - means that I can no longer continue as President of British Cycling. I am sorry to leave an organisation which I have seen make extraordinary progress over the last 16 years, but I am absolutely thrilled to be given the opportunity to bring about the changes that cycling needs worldwide. I know that I am moving on from British Cycling with the organisation in fantastic shape, and I am already looking forward to the challenges ahead as President of the UCI. I know that I am moving on from British Cycling with the organisation in fantastic shape, and I am already looking forward to the challenges ahead as President of the UCI. |
I congratulate Brian Cookson on becoming the President of the UCI. Cycling in Britain has never been in a better place as it is right now, on both participation and elite fronts, and Brian deserves a lot of credit for that. I am sure he will do a fantastic job taking the sport forward globally. |
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I hope this guy restores the damage being done by McQuaid in our sport,this news is a good step in the right direction for the future of mountain biking.
We're talking about bicycles here, not an apocalyptic survival situation, lol.
But your opinion is valid, I just don't really agree, whatever. Not tryna start an internet flame war.
" I'd absolutely love to have downhilling in the Olympics Games, but I think that's a long term project to be honest." -Brian Cookson
www.cyclingnews.com/news/uci-presidential-candidate-cookson-talks-mountain-biking-part-1
Regarding DH in the olympics. He is right about the TV spectacle. DH is very exciting, DH skiing draws the viewers because of the same level of excitement. XC has never been cool for TV because it's too spread out. Speaking to a room full of non-MTB friends when we watched the 4X worlds in NZ together, they all thought that was a bit of a joke because they look like they're riding kids' bikes and it's over very quickly. DH is the most serious spectacle for the wider audience. I love 4X but my mates thought it was a joke. They thought DH was "f*ck me! Insane!" though. It needs to be in, but it would be easier to get it into the winter games location-wise.
I hope he seriously pushes a DH world cup with more stops that is truly a world cup, not just a European cup with a couple of other rounds. Japan has the Fujimi Panorama bikepark, China has at least two bikeparks now and a DH series which I believe is in its first your of running this year. HK has wicked trails and a good scene. There is a sick looking bikepark in Surabaya in Indo. Half of the elite men are from Aussie and NZ. There are tons of races in South America which I read about on Pinkbike. I think they should consider a fifteen round series, best ten results count, something like that.
Best 12 results count to the championship, you can only count qualifying and race points from the same rounds.
It seems to me a lot of places would love to hold a world cup race, but they can't or won't pay the UCI for the privilege. That suggests the fee is too high.
In fact, f*ck it, why do they even have to go to do the timing? Let the local organisers do their thing. It's not as if the UCI are the only people with a stopwatch is it? A series of independent events like the FMB world tour, but for DH. It just needs the UCI to pit their name on it and it's a goer!
'Tell us about your mountain biking background'
'I have a mountain bike'
If UCI decide to start a series of their own, I call for boycott, the EWS guys has worked hard and done a damn good job!
They can not enforce that rule with success and they know it. Start to behave and I might give UCI a chance but they got a lot to prove, they just f*cked things up so bad.
www.cyclingnews.com/news/uci-presidential-candidate-cookson-talks-mountain-biking-part-1
I'm not necessarily chomping at the bit to see DH/4X in the Olympics, but it does make sense if you look at it like skiing in the winter games. Pretty much every discipline of skiing is present there, right down to biathlon. It would be awesome to see in my lifetime, but I won't lose sleep over it not making the cut.
For all those claiming UCI doesn't put money in to MTB, you might read this interview:
factoryjackson.com/2012/12/10/the-uci-question-martin-whiteley/#.Uj4H0D_JKO4
in fact it's worth reading anyway.
If you want to drop Brian a note of support and big up our hopes for MTB, there's a website www.briancookson.org/en where you can send your love and happy vibes.
dh don't need the olympics.
Give the guy a chance, for god's sake. Over the last 16 years, he's turned Britain into a cycling MONSTER of a nation.