By Shane Stokes
UCI President Pat McQuaid has said he is satisfied with the meeting on Wednesday between the UCI and WADA chief Dick Pound, who was visiting the cycling organisation's headquarters in Aigle.
Describing the tone of the meeting as friendly and very businesslike, McQuaid told Cyclingnews that Pound was given detailed information about the anti-doping procedures within the sport and the measures taken by the UCI in order to limit the use of performance enhancing drugs.
"We made presentations to him on the UCI's fight against doping, historical and current," McQuaid said on Wednesday. "We gave him the historical background into our activities in the fight against doping, right up until the modern day. We showed him all our activities including where and when we have anticipated things and where and when we have introduced tests in advance of other federations. He took note of it and has gone away with the hard copies of the presentations made, as there was a lot of information in them. He is going to study them and then come back to us on it.
McQuaid, former President Hein Verbruggen, director-general Dieter Schellenberg, lawyer Philippe Verbiest and Dr. Mario Zorzoli represented the UCI at the meeting. Also present were Jens Voigt and Michael Rogers, who were speaking for the riders. McQuaid complimented them on their contribution. "They were both excellent representatives of their profession," he said. "They were talking about the issue and explaining how it was from their point of view, talking about how they do the controls and how the [anti-doping] guys come knocking on the door at six o'clock in the morning for tests.
"Rogers gave an example of where he had a control at an event by the UCI and then he walked out the door and the Australian agency was waiting for him there to do a second control. They gave a very practical viewpoint of the situation and also how they feel the doping situation is within our sport. They told him [Dick Pound] that it is a lot less prevalent than has been stated."
Pound has been outspoken about doping in cycling in the past. McQuaid is hoping that the presentation today plus any other such meetings in the future will lead to a better relationship between the UCI and WADA. "I would hope several things come out of it," he said. "But the most important thing that I would hope for is that he will in the future refrain from making malicious and derogatory comments about doping within cycling, and in particular, about the UCI's approach to the anti-doping fight."
