{"id":2870,"date":"2013-10-11T02:59:57","date_gmt":"2013-10-11T02:59:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crankpunk.com\/?p=2870"},"modified":"2013-10-11T03:01:17","modified_gmt":"2013-10-11T03:01:17","slug":"the-times-they-are-a-changin-cookson-gets-to-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2013\/10\/11\/the-times-they-are-a-changin-cookson-gets-to-work\/","title":{"rendered":"the times, they are a-changin’ – Cookson gets to work"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"images\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Writing about hope again? For the second time in a week? Surely not! It must be the medication\u2026<\/p>\n

And yet here we are, barely over two weeks into Brian Cookson\u2019s presidency and the rumblings of change are to be heard across the land.<\/p>\n

I know, it\u2019s too early yet to blow the trumpets and to get out the bunting but there have been three developments this week that have reeked of common sense and the bleeding obvious \u2013 two things that had been long banned under the presidency of Pat McQuaid.<\/p>\n

Rumour has it that both common sense and the bleeding obvious have made their return after being rescued from a remote Swiss farmhouse where they were being held against their will by several of the Irishman\u2019s cronies.<\/p>\n

There were found after a dawn raid to be severely undernourished and very pale, though both are recovering in a Geneva hospital.<\/p>\n

McQuaid, when interviewed about the case, said \u201cI know nothing\u201d, the most sensible thing he\u2019s said since taking over the UCI captain\u2019s seat in 2005.<\/p>\n

So, what\u2019s happened in the past few days that suggests that the winds of change are blowing?<\/p>\n

First up is the fantastic news that the women\u2019s Tour of Britain has been granted 2.1 status by the UCI.<\/p>\n

This raises the race alongside the Route de France and the women\u2019s version of the Giro and it is I feel hugely important not only in that it means that the women now have one more top event to race in, but it also provides evidence that Cookson\u2019s claim to be ready to support women\u2019s cycling has substance to it.<\/p>\n

The organisers of the event, SweetSpot, are obviously thrilled at the news.<\/p>\n

The SweetSpot director Guy Elliott said: \u201cWe are absolutely delighted that the UCI have awarded us 2.1 status for this exciting new event.\u201d<\/p>\n

The elevation to 2.1 means that the world\u2019s top racers will be in attendance, thus allowing the British spectators a chance to see women\u2019s cycling at its best, which can only help to counter the argument that women\u2019s cycling is not as watchable as the men\u2019s.<\/p>\n

SweetSpot also announced that the event will have full road closure, accommodation provided and \u2013 shocker \u2013 prize money. Yes, if you thought that every women\u2019s race has prize money you were mistaken.<\/p>\n

How bad is it? I\u2019ve been told that the winner of the women\u2019s version of the Giro walked away with just 450 euros earlier this year, which, after sharing among her teammates must have left her enough for a fast food banquet at best.<\/p>\n

The second notice of change was the announcement that Cookson contacted Paul Kimmage, the former pro and journalist who took on Lance Armstrong over doping allegations, to tell him that the UCI would be ending the legal action against him taken up by McQuaid.<\/p>\n

The former president claimed that Kimmage had defamed the UCI when he published his opinion on the way the governing body was handling the sport and wanted his pound of flesh, taking on his compatriot over what seemed like a playground grudge when cycling was reeling from the Armstrong case and had no need for more mudslinging.<\/p>\n

Cookson has looked at the case and decided that to continue makes no sense whatsoever (probably because Kimmage was right in the first place), and has withdrawn the action.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a call from him, just before he went to Beijing,\u201d Kimmage told VeloNation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told me that they were in the process of issuing a release to the extent that the they are going to drop the case against me.\u201d<\/p>\n

So on that score I am sure most would agree, well done Mr Cookson.<\/p>\n

Again, it\u2019s little more than common sense and the bleeding obvious, but after what went before we are left in a state where we lavish praise on someone behaving in a civilised and sensible manner.<\/p>\n

Perhaps that will prove to be McQuaid\u2019s most lasting legacy: to make otherwise basically competent bureaucrats appear to be saints.<\/p>\n

At this rate Cookson will get a bronze statue of his image on a plinth somewhere and a standing alongside the great revolutionary leaders from the ages.<\/p>\n

Thirdly, and this is a little more tenuous to link to Cookson\u2019s siege of the Bastille than the first two, there is the news of the dismissal by Belkin of Luis Leon Sanchez for being named in \u201ctoo many\u201d doping affairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis name crops up in too many files,\u201d said a Belkin spokesman, which could signal the end of the Spaniard\u2019s career.<\/p>\n

The team settled with the rider so that it could not be taken to court over the matter, but the fact that the team said that the \u201cconfidence between the team and Sanchez has been broken\u201d sets a much overdue precedent that could be taken up by other pro outfits.<\/p>\n

Could this have happened under McQuaid? Doesn\u2019t really matter if it could or not, the fact is that it never did. I suspect that Belkin whiffed the smell of change in the air also thanks to Cookson\u2019s ascendency too, and that this played its part.<\/p>\n

And so yes, I think these three developments signal the potential for our confidence in the governing body to come out of hibernation.<\/p>\n

The times, they might just be a-changin\u2019.<\/p>\n

____________________________________________<\/p>\n

this article originally appeared on The Roar<\/a><\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Writing about hope again? For the second time in a week? Surely not! It must be the medication\u2026 And yet here we are, barely over two weeks into Brian Cookson\u2019s presidency and the rumblings of change are to be heard across the land. I know, it\u2019s too early yet to blow the trumpets and to get out the bunting but there have been three developments this week that have reeked of common sense and the bleeding obvious \u2013 two things that had been long banned under the presidency of Pat McQuaid. Rumour has it that both common sense and the bleeding obvious have made their return after being rescued from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40955418,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","wpupg_custom_link":[],"wpupg_custom_link_behaviour":[],"wpupg_custom_link_nofollow":[],"wpupg_custom_image":[],"wpupg_custom_image_id":[],"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[194158,159546164],"tags":[32612,53207,8155199,5744651,4270133,2233543,108959,24768,1740148,237501],"class_list":["post-2870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-other-publications","category-punkopinion","tag-belkin","tag-brian","tag-cookson","tag-kimmage","tag-luis-leon-sanchez","tag-mcquaid","tag-pa","tag-paul","tag-tour-of-britain","tag-uci"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2OfoS-Ki","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3135,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2013\/12\/02\/encouraging-signs-to-now-from-cooksons-presidency-though-time-will-tell\/","url_meta":{"origin":2870,"position":0},"title":"Encouraging signs to now from Cookson’s presidency, though time will tell","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"12\u6708 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"By Shane Stokes This week\u2019s news that Brian Cookson will ensure that the UCI looks into the matter of a long-running appeal for compensation from the widow of a pro rider who died in a race in 2005 is encouraging, even if the final outcome is not yet certain. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"other contributors","block_context":{"text":"other contributors","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/other-contributors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/brian-cookson-008.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2635,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2013\/08\/23\/mcquaif-down-for-the-count\/","url_meta":{"origin":2870,"position":1},"title":"McQuaid down for the count?","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"8\u6708 23, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"this article was written by cp and originally appeared in The Roar __________________ The drama and tension is supposed to belong on the road, not off it. Not in stuffy offices with strip lighting and Ikea desks, the characters wearing Hush Puppies and blue suits rather than Sidis and lycra.\u2026","rel":"","context":"dopepunk","block_context":{"text":"dopepunk","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/dopepunk\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2536,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2013\/08\/01\/pats-banana-republic-or-what-a-head\/","url_meta":{"origin":2870,"position":2},"title":"Pat McQuaid’s Banana Republic","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"8\u6708 1, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I once described Pat McQuaid\u2019s presidency of the world cycling governing body, the UCI, as resembling a banana republic. In retrospect, that was a bit harsh on banana republics. Defined as \u2018A small nation dependent on one crop or the influx of foreign capital\u2019, the term doesn\u2019t even come close\u2026","rel":"","context":"punkopinion","block_context":{"text":"punkopinion","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/punkopinion\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pat McQuaid, lying just off the coast of China","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/japan.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5197,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2014\/12\/12\/cookson-astana-and-the-death-of-hope\/","url_meta":{"origin":2870,"position":3},"title":"Cookson, Astana, and the Death of Hope","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"12\u6708 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"And the first rule of Twitter is that you should never tweet something you will live to regret. Not many people follow that rule but it is quite a good one, one that Brian Cookson OBE (Oh! Benevolent Entity?) was never taught, quite obviously. The decision to award Astana a\u2026","rel":"","context":"dopepunk","block_context":{"text":"dopepunk","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/dopepunk\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/3297331706_a8b9b1c83a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4316,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2014\/06\/18\/womens-cycling-doing-it-for-the-love-and-one-dick-too-many\/","url_meta":{"origin":2870,"position":4},"title":"Women’s Cycling: doing it for the love, and one dick too many","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"6\u6708 18, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"When Australia\u2019s Tiffany Cromwell won the 2013 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad classic she had every right to be delighted - and one reason not to be. She\u2019d just cemented her name on the European scene with what was arguably the biggest win to date in her career, trouncing Megan Gruanier of\u2026","rel":"","context":"women's cycling","block_context":{"text":"women's cycling","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/womens-cycling\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/1074697_575505319203292_1770661060_o.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/1074697_575505319203292_1770661060_o.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/1074697_575505319203292_1770661060_o.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2855,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2013\/10\/08\/a-generation-on-dope-but-reasons-to-hope\/","url_meta":{"origin":2870,"position":5},"title":"a generation on dope, but reason to hope?","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"10\u6708 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"this article originally appeared on The Roar...________________________________________Regeneration. In \u2018biology\u2019, says Wikipedia, \u201cregeneration is the process of renewal, restoration, and growth that makes genomes, cells, organs, organisms, and ecosystems resilient to natural fluctuations or events that cause disturbance or damage.\u201dI\u2019d like to extend this definition to the world of professional cycling\u2026","rel":"","context":"dopepunk","block_context":{"text":"dopepunk","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/dopepunk\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Lee Rodgers","author_link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/author\/crankpunk\/"},"rttpg_comment":1,"rttpg_category":"other publications<\/a> punkopinion<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Writing about hope again? For the second time in a week? Surely not! It must be the medication\u2026 And yet here we are, barely over two weeks into Brian Cookson\u2019s presidency and the rumblings of change are to be heard across the land. I know, it\u2019s too early yet to blow the trumpets and to…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40955418"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2870"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2870\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2876,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2870\/revisions\/2876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}