Former Irish journalist brought in to help with media and communications
The UCI
The UCI has brought in outside help to assist with their media relations and public relations. Ian McClure, a former journalist, began working with the sport’s international governing body eight months ago and has advised the UCI through one of it’s most troublesome periods.
"I was brought in as a PR advisor and to assist and advise the UCI on its communications. I have a background in cycling and understand the sport very well,” McClure told Cyclingnews in an email.
In the last two years the UCI has had to deal with the fallout from the allegations and confessions made by Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamiltion, as well as the reasoned decision from USADA’s investigation into Lance Armstrong and the US Postal team. The UCI also sued journalist Paul Kimmage earlier this year but postponed litigation after the USADA ruling.
The UCI has recently announced a proposal for an independent commission to examine the UCI’s procedures and behaviour during the Armstrong era. While earlier this week the UCI communicated to all riders and teams that they would set up a telephone ‘hotline’ for individuals to use if they had knowledge or information they could help the fight against doping.
McClure runs his own company, McClure Media & PR, based in Dublin. Having worked as a journalist for 22 years, McClure has also worked in a PR capacity for the Irish government and Irish Sports Council.
He also created the Irish Pro Cycling website, launched in 2010, and edited the site until July of this year. The site was voted Best Sports Site in Ireland at the 2010 Irish Web Awards and was a runner-up in 2011.
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
