Paul Kimmage has reacted with anger and disappointment to the news that 168澳洲5♚最新开奖结果:Cycling Ire♛land has endorsed Pat McQuaid's bid to seek re-election as👍 the Pꦉresident of cycling's governing body the UCI.

Cycling Ireland's board members voted 5-1 in favour of endorsing McQuaid, who is seeking his third term as president, and al🌜though the UCI's presidential election🅘 does not take place until the Autumn of this year no further candidates have stepped forward.

Kimmaꦡge has been one of McQuaid's harshest critics in recent years and was even 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:sued for defamation by McQuaid and his predecessor, Hein Verbruggen, in a Swiss court befor🍌e the case was withdrawn.

On the news that Cycling Ireland has agreed to back McQuaid, Kimmmage told Cyclingnews, "They voted for🅘 Ireland and they've fucked cycling."

Kimmage had been hoping that Cycling ൩Ireland would resist McQuaid's request as without the support of the Irish board the UC⛄I President would have needed to have taken the embarrassing step of applying for Swiss support, a standing he qualifies for by the fact he lives in Switzerland.

McQuaid and the UCI have endured a torturous 12 months, with 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:USADA's Reasoned Decision into Lance Amstrong and US Postal highlighting the short comings of international testing and the alleged links to covered up test results. Cycling's governing body was also heavily criticised for 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:accepting donations from Armstrong as well as their decisio𒁃n to c𒁏ontest USADA's jurisdiction in the US Postal case. The UCI even took the matter to court before accepting the Reasoned Decision in yet another embarrassing u-turn.

Kimmage believes that the decision to support McQuaid has taken away an opportunity for th🎉e sport to improve its image anཧd tackle the issue of doping in a more robust manner.

"I felt there was a real wind for chance, ꦐlike with Festina in 1998. I really felt that this was a chance for the sport to move on and to clean out all this. This wasn't going to happen unless we removed Verbruggen and McQuaid," Kimmage added.

"I really felt that after Armstrong, back with USADA that this was another opportunity. If McQuaid had an ounce of fucking dignity he would have walked. he would have said, 'look maybe I wasn't responsible for all this, but I have to hold my hands up and say this was appalling, and I'm wꦗalking.' He didn't do that and all he's done since is cover his ass."

After USADA's Reasoned Decision was announced 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Kimmage joined tꦺhe Change Cycling Now lobꦅby group. It contained anti-doping analyst Michael Ashenden and Greg LeMond amongst several other individuals. The group pressed for 🅠McQuaid to be ousted, and although they lacked a genuine alternative, they were united in their dislike of Armstrong, many of them having crossed swords with him publicly in the past.

"We had that press conference and we spent two days in London. I assure you everyone in that room wanted the same thing. They wanted what was best for the sport. it was so good, it was so good what happened in that room for two days with so many positive things that went on. Then ♔we came out with the press conference and it just went tits up꧙."

"What needed to happen then was that we needed to say, the press conference had been a disaster but we needed to have another meeting the next week, and the next week, and the next week. There needed to be a momentum but there was no structure and from that moment, that was it. It was going to be disaster, with everyone going off half-cocked in a million different directions. It hasn't worked, it's been a lot of hot air. It's been frustrating that it hasn't work. I'm being very defeatist but I can''t help the way I feel. McQuaid is back in now and no one will stand against h💦im. it's all going to happen again, and again, with no accountability. No one [in authority] paid the price for Festina, no one will pay the price for Armstrong."

Change Cycling No🐠w had also pressed for a truth and reconciliation process with the sport, but the possibility of such a programme now looks further✅ away than ever. WADA has been lukewarm on the prospect at best, while only a number of individuals have confessed in light of USADA's report.

Despite their frosty meetings in the past𒆙 Kimmage believes that A⭕rmstrong could be a key to the process regaining some momentum.

"He's got so much on his💫 plate now, legally, that doing some good for the♌ sport is way down on his list of priorities - and it may not have occurred to him - but he can still blow them out of the water."