The head of British Cycling made the guarantee as he launched his campaign manifesto here under the slogan "Restoring trust, Leading change", which is underpinned by six key pledges, the main one which is to "transform anti-doping in cycling", which Cookson claimed would be carried out within the first year of him being elected.

"I don't know what the salary of the UCI President is but I will assume there is a salary," he told insidethegames.

"I will find out what it is if and when I am successful and will publish the details of that salary."

McQuaid has consistently refused to reveal details of how much he earns at the UCI, claiming "it's no big deal, but it shouldn't be disclosed" and offering us a precedent that FIFA do not make it public how much their President, Sepp Blatter, is paid.

Cookson, however, is promising to put an end to the secrecy. 

"I guarantee that  all my financial interests, remuneration package and any potential conflicts of interest to the office of President are published," he said.

"Once we have restored trust in cycling and the UCI, it will make our other tasks of developing the sport worldwide so much easier."


Most of Cookson's manifesto had been heavily trailed, particularly the setting-up of an independent anti-doping unit which would remove responsibility for the management of a drugs control programme from the UCI.

"If elected, my first priority will be to establish a completely independent anti-doping unit, managed and governed outside of the UCI and in full cooperation with the World Anti-Doping Agency," said Cookson, who did part of his speech in French in a location just a few metres from where the UCI was founded in 1900.

"This unit would be physically and politically separate from the UCI, responsible for all aspects of anti-doping, and report to a Board totally independent from the UCI."

McQuaid had yesterday tried to claim that such a body could not be set-up under the rules of WADA, something Cookson strongly disputed, while at the same raising the possibility that the Irishman was too closely involved in the anti-doping programme run by the UCI.

"There are a number of examples around the world of sports where they have outsourced their anti-doping activities and I am sure that can be done in the sport of cycling without a huge amount of difficulty," Cookson said.

"The anti-doping service within the UCI headquarters is just down the corridor from the President's office, so that can't be right.

"We have to have a greater degree of separation between the governance of our sport and the control of the serious matters of doping.

"It has to be more independent than it is for us to regain the creditability we all want for our sport."


Besides other key pledges, such as growing the sport across the world, overhauling elite road cycling and strengthening the UCI's creditability and influence within the Olympic Movement, perhaps the most eye-catching one was to develop women's cycling.

These include expanding the women's calendar, trying to negotiate new new television deals and the professionalisation of top-level women's teams with proper employment rights including a minimum wage.

Perhaps, even more significantly, Cookson would move to ensure women are properly represented within the UCI, with their own commission, which he promised to set-up "immediately" after being elected, and which would be supported by a full-time staff member devoted to the promotion of women's cycling, and at least one woman on every UCI commission. 

To read Cookson's full manifesto click here. 

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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