Last one was German, new one is Irish. UCI is based in Switzerland.
The UCI has appointed a former journalist as an external PR consultant. Ian McClure of McClure Media & PR is based in Dublin and specialises in cycling. Last year the UCI had an external PR contract with InMotion Marcom of Germany, much closer to the UCI's HQ in Aigle, Switzerland. InMotion was not retained in part because it invited BikeBiz, and other trade media, into the UCI's HQ for a meeting where UCI president Pat McQuaid said $5000 carbon frame road bikes were made in China for $30. InMotion Marcom did the PR for the UCI homologation program only.
Cyclingnews.com reports that McClure, a former journalist, began working with the UCI eight months ago.
"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.
McClure has been journalist for 22 years. He has also done PR work for the Irish government and the Irish Sports Federation.
Advising the UCI on how to handle the media will be a challenging role. UCI president Pat McQuaid is not a natural born diplomat and his gaffes are legendary.
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In the video below Pat McQuaid can be seen making his claims that $5000 road bikes are made in China for $30 or $40, and may not be as safe as steel bikes of old.
He also said the media tour was arranged to put the UCI's case on the controversial homologation programme. McQuaid said the UCI was a "convenient punch bag" for its many critics.
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3 comments
McQuaid always seems a man so totally out of touch and out of his depth he makes George Entwistle look amazingly competent. So McQuaid thought that riders doping and then whistle blowing were wrong but that keeping a $100,000 donation from a known doper is alright. He presided over technical rules that proved to be ambiguous while charging manufacturers the privilege to homologise their products to meaningless standards, that have since changed. But he is still in his highly paid job. So can we now add nepotism, to his brief along with corruption and bungling incompetence? And by the way, Pat, you may find that carbon frames out of china are actually as much $250
Robert Wade Nov 15th 2012 at 4:56PM
0 1I was losing the will to live while listening to him droning on. My mind was wandering to 'how much is a flight and where is the factory back door?'
David Beacham Nov 16th 2012 at 11:39AM
0 0Yes UCI did not have much success with their first media festival and I doubt that it will change much by switching to another news agency. Change must come from within UCI, and nothing suggest it will happen in the nearest future. But it was instructive to see the UCI bunker for the inside and Carlton's video speaks for itself...
Torben Finn Laursen Nov 16th 2012 at 1:11PM
0 0