COOKSON. «I miei primi 100 giorni»

UCI | 08/01/2014 | 12:28
Dopo cento giorni, il presidente dell’Uci Brian Cookson fa il punto sul lavoro svolto da quando si è insediato al comando della Federazione Internazionale.

«Abbiamo vissuto tre mesi intensi, nei quali ho lavorato per mantenere le promesse che comparivano nel mio manifesto elettorale. Ho la fortuna di poter contare su collaboratori di alto livello ed estremamente motivati: questo ci ha permesso di ottenere sin da subito importanti risultati. Grandi progressi sono stati compiuti per quanto riguarda la Riforma del Ciclismo professionistico: c’è ancora molto da fare, ma la volontà generale è quella di lavorare in un’unica direzione e quindi presto potremo varare una riforma importante costruita su basi sane».

CICLISMO FEMMINILE. «La nostra nuova Commissione si è riunita per la prima volta per pianificare il proprio lavoro e mi piace sottolineare come ci sia la presenza di almeno una donna in tutte le Commissioni Uci. Il lavoro della Commissione riguarda soprattutto la copertura televisiva degli eventi più prestigiosi, delle prove di Coppa del Mondo e sono fiducioso di riuscire finalmente a liberare il fantastico potenziale del ciclismo femminile».

COMMISSIONE INDIPENDENTE. «La Commissione ha già iniziato il suo lavoro preparatorio e avrà ben presto accesso a tutti i dossier dell’Uci e a tutti computer che sono stati "backuppati" al momento della mia elezione. La Commissione raccoglierà anche le testimonianze di personaggi implicati all’epoca dei fatti e collaborerà con la Wada. I costi del lavoro saranno interamente sostenuti dall’Uci e abbiamo chiesto ai membri di concludere il loro lavoro nell’anno solare 2014».

LAVORI. «Tra le altre attività in corso, possiamo sottolineare l’impegno dell’Uci in materia antidoping con l’iNADO, progetto portato avanti in collaborazione con le agenzie antidoping di Norvegia e Finlandia con lo scopo di verificare che i nostri sistemi attuali siano applicati nel miglior modo possibile. Stiamo lavorando anche per far sì che l’Uci diventi una organizzazione più trasparente e moderna, nella quale tutti abbiano fiducia. Il mio sogno è semplice: voglio che l’Uci diventi la miglior federazione del mondo, una federazione degna del magnifico sport che gestisce e voglio che tutti - tifosi, atleti, tecnici, giornalisti, sponsor e dirigenti - ne possano andare orgogliosi».

As the new year begins and a little over three months after his election as president, Brian Cookson has reflected on the changes that have already been put in place at the UCI and looks forward to 2014 with enthusiasm as a year in which he and his team will work hard to rebuild trust in cycling and grow the sport globally.

UCI President Brian Cookson said:

"It has been a very busy three months since my election at the UCI Congress in late September. I made a number of important pledges in my Manifesto and I am absolutely determined that these promises are not only met but become realities as soon as possible.

"I am extremely fortunate to have a top class, motivated and dedicated team and we've made good progress on a number of fronts. The UCI Management Committee has also been totally united and at our special meeting held in October made a number of key decisions on important issues concerning the governance and transparency of the UCI, women's cycling and international development.

"Good progress has also been made on our work to reform men’s elite road racing. There is plenty more to be done but I’m really encouraged by the positive atmosphere at the meetings we are having with all of cycling’s stakeholders and the general willingness to co-operate to build a better and more sustainable future for all involved.

"I am very pleased that our new Women’s Commission has met for the first time to start planning its work and that all UCI Commissions now have a female member. Work is well under way to transform the broadcast coverage of women’s elite cycling’s premier series, the UCI Women’s Road World Cup and I am really committed to unlocking the fantastic potential of women’s cycling.

"I am also delighted to announce that we now have the three-member Independent Commission which I promised in my Manifesto. This Commission will investigate the problems cycling has faced in recent years, especially the allegations that the UCI has been involved in wrongdoing in the past –
allegations which have done so much to hurt the credibility of the UCI and our sport. Their work will also be focused on understanding what went so wrong in our sport and they will make recommendations for change so that as far as possible those mistakes are not repeated. In recognition of the scope of their task, and to emphasise that, as a sport, we need to gain a positive outcome from its work, it will be named the Cycling Independent Reform Commission (CIRC). Three individuals at the top of their respective professions have agreed to do this work, headed by Dick Marty as chairman.

Mr Marty is a high profile Swiss politician and former State Prosecutor, in which post he was specially noted for his energetic activities fighting organised crime and drug abuse. For more than a decade, he has been a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. In the course of this work, he has conducted various inquiries that have earned him international recognition.

He will be supported by two vice-chairmen, Mr. Ulrich Haas and Mr Peter Nicholson.

Mr Haas, of Germany, is a specialist in anti-doping rules and procedures. He is Professor of Civil Procedure and Civil Law at the University of Zurich and a highly respected arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Mr Nicholson is an Australian, a former military officer and specialises in criminal investigations in both national and international jurisdictions. He has worked for various governments and the United Nations where he led several war crimes investigations.

The Commission members will be assisted by Ms. Aurélie Merle, the project Director who has a background in sports with the IOC and LOCOG and also investigation and justice work for the UN, who will coordinate the work of the CIRC.

Brian Cookson added:

‘’The Independent Commission has already started preparatory work and will soon be given complete access to the files of the UCI and all the electronic data which was copied as soon as I was elected. It will also be seeking testimony from people involved in the sport or who have been involved in the past and we are in the final stages of discussions with WADA to agree how best to incentivise people to co-operate with the Independent Commission.

‘’We have agreed a budget for the Commission, which the UCI will cover in full, and we have also expressed our wish that its work be concluded this year. Other than that, the Independent Commission based in Lausanne will operate completely independently of the UCI and will organise its work as it chooses. The Commission's terms of reference will explicitly state that the Commission will act autonomously and that its members will not receive any instruction from the UCI.

"Other work well underway includes the audit of the UCI's current anti-doping activities by iNADO who are using top staff from the anti-doping organisations of Finland and Norway for this work which will conclude at the end of the month. This is completely distinct from the work of the Independent Commission and is focussed on assuring that our current operations are as good as they can be.

"In other ways the progress will be more subtle as we change the way the UCI works to make it a more transparent and modern organisation, one which people trust. My vision is simple, I want us to be the best international federation in the world, a federation that merits its beautiful and enduring sport, and I want our sport to be one in which everyone – fans, participants, media, sponsors, governments – can have the utmost trust and confidence” .

Further announcements on the CIRC will be made when appropriate.

Ends

Note to the editors:

Mr. Marty is a well known political figure both in Switzerland (as a member of the Parliament) and in Europe (as a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe). He holds a doctorate in law from the University of Neuchâtel. In 1975, Marty was nominated state prosecutor of Ticino, in which post he was specially noted for his energetic activities fighting organised crime and drug abuse. In 1987 he received an Award of Honor of the United States Department of Justice and a special award of honor by the International Narcotic Enforcement Officers Association. In 2005, Marty was appointed to lead an investigation by the Council of Europe into alleged illegal CIA secret prisons in Europe. On 14 December 2010, the Council of Europe entrusted Marty with investigating alleged inhuman treatment of people and killing of prisoners with the purpose of removal and illicit trafficking in human organs in Kosovo, involving politicians currently in power.

Mr. Haas, a German national specialised in anti-doping rules and procedures has been Professor of Civil Procedure and Civil Law at the University of Zurich since January 2008. He studied law at the Universities of Regensburg and Lausanne, and after obtaining his Ph.D. and qualification as a university lecturer at the University of Regensburg, he became a professor at Martin Luther University in Halle and subsequently at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz. Mr. Haas' work and research has been concentrated on international civil procedure (including arbitration), company insolvency law and sports law. He is the editor of numerous publications in these areas and has worked for many years as a consultant and arbitrator. He is a highly respected arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the Deutsches Sportschiedsgericht and the Deutsche Institution für Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit eV (DIS).

Mr. Nicholson LLM MBA is an Australian national, a former Army officer, and since then a specialist in criminal investigations. He has extensive experience as a senior investigator and analyst in both national and international jurisdictions. Mr. Nicholson was recently advising varying levels of government in Afghanistan on ministerial strategic leadership and policy development of the police forces, and on matters of governance in part to counter corruption, fraud and intimidation. Beforehand he advised the government of Pakistan on policy development in counter-terrorism issues. He was a United Nations Independent Commission Chief of Investigations in Lebanon investigating terrorism cases, and investigated crimes for the International Criminal Court in Uganda and in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was a team Leader at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and an investigator on the Srebrenica genocide case and others.