October 5, 2009 (Copenhagen, Denmark) – Following the recent press conferences in Montreal, Quebec City and Ottawa announcing the unprecedented two Pro Tours in Canada in 2010 we contacted UCI President Pat McQuaid, recently re-elected to a new 4-yr term, to find out more about this development, his recent re-election, doping, and his thoughts on the return of the TTT (team time trial). Read more about Pat McQuaid at the end of the interview,

Canadians are very excited with the news of not one, but two ProTour events next fall in Quebec. Can you tell us how this came about – was is part of your “globilization” mandate or can we credit Serge Arsenault with tabling this?
PM: It was a little bit of both. Yes our objectives include globalization and began with granting ProTour status to the Tour down Under in Australia. The UCI put it out there that we were interested in new events and Mr. Arsenault contacted us and asked if we would be interested in some races in Quebec. Of course we remembered his hard work in the nineties and talks began. Early this summer Serge came back to us with political backing and said both Quebec City and Montreal are very interested, but for it to work, it needs to be at a ProTour level. Again we talked, this time about requirements and he has promised that they can be fulfilled, so we have confirmed these events for 2010.

We all remember those great World Cups in the early nineties, but we also remember it didn’t last. What’s different now to prevent this?
PM: The discussions centered around a minimum of five years. We at the UCI are able to underwrite them for at least this time period, and with proper commercial partners and national and provincial backing, I don’t see why we can’t continue indefinitely. We will alternate each year with one race in Quebec City on the Friday and one in Montreal on the Sunday, and vice-versa the next year.

Congratulations on your re-election and smooth Road World championships in Mendrisio.
PM: Yes, it was much smoother this year, without that Grand Tour conflict and the fact that there were no other candidates that were considered. The last four years have been very busy with our fight against doping and globalizing the sport, now maybe we can put more time towards other objectives.

Does this mean the anti-doping mandate fight is not your number one priority?
PM: Well, we need to follow-up, you can’t take your eye off the ball on this one. This year we had 10,000 tests with 7,000 of them being out of competition. This process has been very expensive and tiring for both sides. We continue with initiatives like our “True Champion or Cheat”, an interactive site that the UCI will launch on the first of June that is aimed at athletes. It will inform them of the latest news and procedures as well as educating them about ethics in our sport. We are aggressively trying to bring ethics into everything we do.

Personally I’m a big fan of the recent decision to ban two-way radios, what your thoughts on this?
PM: Yes, I as well believe in the long run it will be beneficial. It will bring the sport back to the athlete. The directors have controlled everything, and have affected the sporting level. Of course this will be a phasing out process as we have some athletes who have never raced without one before.

I’m also a big fan of the TTT (team time trial) returning to pro level racing. Can you tell us more about that process.
PM: When we evaluated the Road World Championships, we found we needed to make it more interesting and exciting as well as create an economic benefit for the host city. With the inclusion of the TTT it extends the championships to a week, with the Juniors being involved as well.

I understand the TTT at the Road Worlds will not be with National teams, how will that work?
PM: Yes, the TTT will be raced by trade teams consisting of six or seven riders on a shorter, technical course through the city. In the old days the TTT was remembered for being boring, as it was often run on highways out of the way. This new format will be very different and create opportunities for team sponsors to benefit at the championships.

With your recent re-election essentially you’re half way through an eight-year term. Are you satisfied with your progress?
PM: I feel very satisfied with the results so far. The Tour de France was very successful with not one positive test coming back. We have a healthier sport, that is conducted globally. We are very excited about the Tour of Russia, the Tour of China, and our new events in Canada. The conflict with the Grand Tours has passed and the calendar is full of quality events.

So it’s safe to say we will see you in Quebec next fall?
PM: Oh, I’ll be there, it will be fantastic.

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Pat McQuaid profile
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Patrick “Pat” McQuaid (born 5 September 1949) is a former Irish professional road racing cyclist and current president of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).

McQuaid comes from a cycling family, with his father Jim and uncle Paddy being top cyclists. His brothers Kieron and Paul Oliver and Darach as well as his cousin John McQuaid represented Ireland in world road championships and the Olympic road race.
McQuaid raced from 1966 to 1982, starting as a junior and then nationally and internationally as a senior. He was Irish national road champion in 1974 and won the Tour of Ireland in 1975 and 1976. He also won the Shay Elliott Memorial Race. At the end of his career, he rode for the Viking Cycles pro team in Britain.

McQuaid was racing when Sean Kelly started to become successful. The two were on national teams together during the seventies. Both were banned from the 1976 Olympics after racing in South Africa during a sporting boycott.[1]

After his career, McQuaid worked as a teacher but stayed involved in cycling. He was national team director from 1983 to 1986. He has also been director of the Tour of Langkawi in Malaysia, the Tour of China, and the Tour of Philippines. He was president of the Irish Cycling Federation from 1996 to 1999. McQuaid served eight years as the UCI road commission chairman.[2] Since 2006 he has been President of the UCI.[3]

In July 2007, during the Tour de France, a struggle pitted McQuaid against the Tour’s organizers, Amaury Sport Organisation. Among tactics was McQuaid’s publicizing a telephone call with the Tour’s race director, then demanding an apology for the conversation.[4] In addition, before and during the 2007 UCI Road World Championships in Stuttgart, McQuaid had a feud with Stuttgart’s minister of sports, Susanne Eisenmann. She wanted to ban Paolo Bettini because he refused the UCI anti-doping pledge, a plan which backfired.[5] The German broadsheet Süddeutsche Zeitung accused McQuaid of flip-flopping on doping, on one hand maintaining that “there is no doping case of Michael Rasmussen” and defending Bettini, on the other stating he wanted to fine Patrik Sinkewitz and Alexandre Vinokourov.[6] Spiegel magazine doubted McQuaid commitment against doping.[7]