The imminent International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidential election that cycling chief David Lappartient is running in has paralysed discussions over professional cycling’s impending economic and calendar reform, multiple sources have informed Escape Collective.
Lappartient, who – among other roles – has been president of the International Cycling Union (UCI) since 2017, will find out on March 20 if he has been chosen as Thomas Bach’s successor. He has better than an outside chance, but he’s not the favourite in a seven-candidate field that includes World Athletics president Sebastian Coe and current IOC vice president Juan Antonio Samaranch, son of the longtime former IOC president of the same name.
Uncertainty surrounding Lappartient’s future has stalled discussions over cycling’s reform project, with insiders admitting that the timeline of One Cycling – a project instigated by a small group of teams and not the UCI – has been slightly pushed back. Its proponents, however, remain confident that a final agreement will be signed off in the coming months.
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