In a highly contested battle, Brian Cookson has walked away as the next UCI President. Cookson tallied 24 votes out of a possible 42, while incumbent McQuaid only managed 18. Speaking after the election, Cookson was quoted saying,“I would like to thank-you for all of the trust that you have placed in me today. The real work starts now. I would call on the global cycling community to unite.” On the topic of McQuaid, he said,”I would like to thank Pat sincerely for the contribution he has made both to cycling and to the UCI in his long career.”
Giving his farewell speak, McQuaid said,“I would like to extend my congratulations to Brian on his success in being elected UCI President. Being elected UCI President was one of the proudest moments in my life and I know that it is also a proud occasion for Brian, his family and his supporters. It has been a huge privilege to serve the sport that I love as UCI President for eight years and I enjoyed every day that I spent working with all of our federations to improve and develop cycling worldwide. Brian has set out what he intends to achieve over the next four years and I would encourage all cycling federations to support his efforts to work for the good of the sport.”
