van den Driessche Faces Sanctions

Femke van den Driessche faces a severe punishment by the Union Cycliste Internationale in the first case against a rider for competing on a bike allegedly containing a hidden motor.

On Monday Van den Driessche, 19, opted not to defend herself at Tuesday’s UCI disciplinary hearing in Switzerland into her use of the machine in the women’s under-23 race at the world cyclo-cross championships in Zolder in January.

She had maintained the confiscated bike belonged to an acquaintance and was in the pits because of a mix-up by a mechanic, but on Monday she said would not contest the matter and added that she had retired from cyclo-cross.

In a statement the UCI said: “The Union Cycliste Internationale confirms that the disciplinary commission hearing regarding the Femke van den Driessche case took place today at the UCI World Cycling Centre, headquarters of the international federation in Aigle, Switzerland. A decision will be rendered and announced in due course and, until then, the UCI will not be making any further comment.”

The UCI president, Brian Cookson, said in March that cycling’s world governing body would request the toughest possible sanctions. Regulations, recently strengthened, provide for a minimum suspension of six months and a fine of up to 200,000 Swiss francs (£141,000) for an offence of “technological fraud”, while coaches, mechanics and other officials could also be sanctioned.

Bikes have been scanned by the UCI at major competitions across all disciplines and events, including the Tour de France, in recent years because of speculation regarding motors hidden in bike frames. At the track world championships in London on 2-6 March 274 bikes were scanned.

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Cookson Denies Verbruggen Claims

The president of cycling’s governing body has denied his predecessor Hein Verbruggen’s claims that they have reached an agreement to end legal proceedings which would have seen the Dutchman retain his role as honorary president of the UCI.

Verbruggen, who left his post as president in 2005, had threatened legal action against cycling’s governing body over what he described as an “outrageously biased, misleading and frequently wrong” investigation into the sport’s doping past.

The current president, Brian Cookson, has previously called for Verbruggen to step down but the Dutchman has told insidethegames.biz that they had reached an agreement which means: “Mr Cookson renounces definitively from asking me to resign from my honorary presidency and agrees not to mention this question any more publicly or privately.” According to insidethegames, the UCI also paid £29,000 towards Verbruggen’s legal costs.

However, Cookson has denied that is the case and stated that any agreement with Verbruggen was now void.

“I was elected to change the way the UCI conducts itself and therefore, following a request from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), I indeed met with Mr Hein Verbruggen last summer,” read a statement. “We came to a confidential agreement which was to ensure, amongst other things, that he would stop using his influence to criticise and cause trouble for the UCI. Since Mr Verbruggen never respected his commitments, the agreement is considered null. No money has ever been paid to Mr Verbruggen since I became President.”

A 227-page report into cycling’s doping culture said that the UCI colluded with Lance Armstrong to cover up positive tests at the 1999 Tour de France, when Verbruggen was in charge of the organisation.

Verbruggen, 73, said he started a court case against the UCI and Cookson, as well as lodging a complaint to the International Olympic Committee ethics commission which resulted in the IOC mediating between the parties with an agreement signed to end legal proceedings.

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McQuaid Promises to Walk

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Pat McQuaid has promised not to prolong the bitter battle over the presidency of the International Cycling Union if he is deposed from office by British challenger Brian Cookson in Friday's vote.

The winner requires at least 22 of the 42 votes to prevail in Florence and, although he is confident of being elected to serve a third four-year term in office, McQuaid will accept the result if it does not go his way.

He hopes Cookson will do the same after a presidential race that has featured numerous verbal barbs, criticisms and controversy over the legislation and its interpretation.

McQuaid, UCI president since 2005, said: "I would hope that the vote would bring an end to all that. I know if I lose I certainly won't be looking to make a legal challenge. I would walk away. I would hope my opponent would do the same."

Cookson has publicised his endorsements - from national federations to high-profile ex-riders such as Sir Chris Hoy - while McQuaid has opted to take a different tact.

"I do have a lot of support from within the sport itself, but I'm not going around listing names every day of people who are supporting me," McQuaid said.

"I have enough to be doing to continue my job in running the UCI than looking for endorsements, or whatever."

McQuaid's bid for re-election suffered a blow when delegates of the European Cycling Union, which has 14 votes, opted to back Cookson.

McQuaid said: "It wasn't a big surprise to me, because one of his supporters is Igor Makarov, the Russian oligarch [president of the Russian Cycling Federation and member of the UCI management committee].

"He carries a lot of influence within the European federations. He also provided Europe with a one million Euro sponsorship deal some months ago. I think his influence was brought to bear."

Europe snub

Makarov is one of those to have publicly backed Cookson, along with Bernard Hinault.

Five-time Tour de France winner Hinault said: "No organisation should accept people having more than two consecutive terms. That is not democracy.

"That is being asleep when life has to be a permanent evolution, and cycling must be like that, too. We need to clean what is in place. Cycling needs news ideas, new solutions."

McQuaid insists he is already cleaning up cycling and that he requires a third and final term to complete unfinished business.

"I want to tidy it up and then, at the end of the four years, to step away," the 64-year-old said.

Sir Chris Hoy Voices UCI Critique

Sir Chris Hoy hit out at cycling's world governing body on Wednesday after he was denied the chance to compete for three gold medals at the London Olympics. The 36-year-old capped a remarkable Olympic career on Tuesday with his British record sixth gold medal in a dramatic keirinrace. It was Hoy's second gold of a hugely successful Olympics for Britain's track cyclists as they won seven of the 10 events in the velodrome.

But 24 hours after the action wrapped up, Hoy revealed he still harboured some frustration that he could not have added further to his haul ofmedals. Hoy was overlooked for the men's sprint in favour of Jason Kenny – a decision vindicated by the Bolton rider's gold medal and one which the Scot had publicly backed. Hoy, however, believes BritishCycling's bosses should not have been forced to make the call before the Gamesdue to a change in policy from the International Cycling Union (UCI). Following Team GB's dominance in Beijing four years ago the UCI, among other alterations to the Olympic programme, opted to restrict each nation to one rider in the sprint race – which Hoy won in China.

The Scot has previously been outspoken on the matter but after an Olympics which has been marked by memorable inter-country battles – such as between Jamaica's Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake on the track and Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps of USA in the pool – he was moved to make his feelings heard again. "We knew there was only one rider per nation. It was disappointing not just for us but also for the other nations and for the fans," he said. "I think they missed out on a number of top-class competitors in a number of the events.

"Can you imagine a 100m final with only one Jamaican or American runner? Anyway, it happened and we dealt with it and I think we dealt with it well."

Hoy also claimed that Britain's track cycling success had undermined a perceived bid by the UCI to "manipulate" the medal table. The UCI shuffled the events on the Olympic programme – which also involved evening up the number of women's and men's track events at five apiece – after Britain also won seven track golds in 2008.

Further success on the road in London, with Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins winning the time trial, means Team GB's cyclist have never been more dominant.

"It's immensely satisfying," he said.

"It didn't really work out for the UCI in their attempt to manipulate the medal table. To have the seven gold medals on the track and Bradley's and the potentially more success with the BMXers and mountain bikers, it has been fantastic.

"I don't think any of us really believed that we were going to emulate Beijing. we've been blown away by it."

After signing off his Olympic career, which began with gold in the 1km time trial at Athens in 2004, Hoy has called for the funding that has established Team GB's dominance in the velodrome to remain.

"Fifteen years ago the National Lottery funding started and that was the catalyst and starting point for the team," he said.

"Peter Keen had this vision for where cycling was going to go and we all thought he was mad initially when he had this dream to be the best team in the world. For someone like Laura [Trott, double gold medallist] she has only known the team as it is now but for the older riders like myself we remember it when it was run on a shoestring budget. That's why we take so much pride in seeing how far it has come in a short space of time."