Cookson builds bridges with AFLD, meetings set with IOC

UCI President Brian Cookson's mission to improve the governing body’s credibility is set to continue in the coming weeks with meetings planned with key stakeholders in international sport. Cookson has already restructured elements of the UCI’s Management Committee, appointing three new Vice-Presidents and awarding the role of Director General under the new regime to Martin Gibbs, who had worked on the presidential campaign.

Cyclingnews understands that Cookson met with AFLD President Bruno Genevois earlier this month and that on November 26 he will meet with IOC President Thomas Bach.

“The UCI has started a constructive dialogue and that will continue as we redouble our efforts to tackle doping in co-operation with all the key stakeholders," a UCI spokesperson told Cyclingnews.

Gibbs has already met with WADA in order to begin discussions on how to build the independent investigation into the UCI’s leadership under previous heads Hein Verbruggen and Pat McQuaid, which Cookson promised as part of his manifesto.

Cookson has also already appointed Aurelie Merle as Project Manager for the investigation. Merle has previously worked with IOC/CIO and LOCOG, the agency tasked with developing the London Olympic Games in 2012. Merle is set to remain as a consultant until the commission has been started.

More changes have taken place behind the scenes with Nathalie Clerc joining as assistant to the directorate and on January 1, 2014 Nicolas Valticos, currently working at FIFA, will join the UCI as in the in-house legal counsel.