Pat McQuaid is Alive and Well

Pat McQuaid’s tenure as President of the UCI had its share of challenges and controversies. He inherited a sport burdened with a long-standing doping culture, and which was on the verge of being rocked to its very foundation by various high profile doping cases. McQuaid repeatedly banged heads with the ASO while trying to push sporting reforms which could have expanded cycling’s global reach. He was also instrumental in establishing many of the features which define the UCI today: a successful cycling academy; the structural underpinnings of the modern WorldTour; the Joint Agreement which binds the riders union with the teams association; and the Biological Passport program, which is at the core of the sport’s anti-doping strategy.

McQuaid still keeps his finger on the pulse of pro cycling. While he stands by the many difficult decisions he made as President, he has also come to terms with many of the controversies he faced, and has softened his stance on some key issues which defined his tenure. His candid answers and observations – on the current UCI leadership, the reign of Lance Armstrong, and suggestions for the future of the sport – may surprise even some of his most hardened critics.

Some four years after he was voted out of office, The Outer Line reached out to McQuaid for his insights and opinions of the sport today, a retrospective view of his time in office, and the significance of the UCI’s upcoming Presidential election.