UCI’s Lappartient bids for top IOC job

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UCI president David Lappartient is one of seven declared candidates to replace Thomas Bach as president of the International Olympic Committee, in a contest which could raise various issues relevant to DerbyWheel’s plans.

Bach announced in August that he would not seek to continue in office, having already served the maximum 12 years. Any such extension would have required an amendment to the Olympic charter.

‘New times call for new leaders,’ he told the IOC’s general meeting during the Paris games. ‘I know with this decision I am disappointing many of you. But it is in the best interests of our beloved Olympic movement.’

Seven candidates declared their interest ahead of the deadline on September 15:

  • HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan, IOC Executive Board member, and younger brother of King Abdullah II
  • Lord Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics
  • Kirsty Coventry, IOC Executive Board member, and Zimbabwe’s sports minister
  • Johan Eliasch, president of the International Ski Federation
  • David Lappartient, president of the International Cycling Union
  • Juan Antonio Samaranch, an IOC vice president, son of the former IOC president
  • Morinari Watanabe, president of the International Gymnastics Federation

Britain’s Lord Coe is considered to be the favourite. He is in his third and final term as president of World Athletics, and is credited with bringing stability to an organisation facing accusations of corruption and doping.

But he caused some ripples earlier this year, when World Athletics became the first federation to award prize money at an Olympic Games. ‘They are the stars of the show,’ he said, ‘and as our income grows they deserve to show a part of that.’ The UCI’s Lappartient spoke out against the move, claiming it was ‘not the Olympic spirit’, and accusing World Athletics of avoiding discussion of the proposal.

Coe has also welcomed Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track competition, which proposes four big-money ‘grand slam’ athletics events annually. ‘I don’t see fresh investment as being anything other than collaboration, not rival,’ he said. ‘It’s a good sign that the sport is heading in the right trajectory.’

This contrasts with the still unresolved conflict between Lappartient’s UCI and the DerbyWheel keirin series, which similarly proposes big-money competitions alongside existing UCI competition. DerbyWheel CEO James Pope recently revealed that the UCI was refusing to even meet with him.

Coe and Lappartient are both experienced politicians, and both come from a centre-right perspective. The two are reported to have collaborated in recent months, in support of adding cross-country running and cyclo-cross to the Winter Olympics programme. But their differing positions on prize money for athletes looks set to be a bone of contention in the coming months.

The candidates will make their pitches for the top job in world sport at a meeting in Lausanne in January 2025. The decision will be made at the 143rd IOC Session, to be held from 18 to 21 March 2025 in Greece.