Cookson appeals to shamed Armstrong

Brian Cookson admits some 'tough decisions' need to be made
28 September 2013

Brian Cookson, the newly-elected president of the International Cycling Union, hopes Lance Armstrong will play a part in helping cycling move on from its drug-addled past.

Cookson, the British Cycling president since 1996, recognises he faces a challenge to restore credibility to the sport after succeeding Pat McQuaid in Friday's election in Florence.

And involving the most infamous cheat in world sport would help to draw a line in the sand.

Cookson said in Florence on Saturday: "Lance Armstrong has apparently indicated that he is willing to participate in the process of investigating (the past).

"I encourage Lance to come forward and when he comes forward I hope that he tells the truth and all of the truth and see where we go from there."

Armstrong was among those to celebrate a change of leadership - writing "Hallelujah" on Twitter - but Cookson knows his task is only just beginning.

"There's a lot of work to do and some tough decisions to be made," the Briton said.

"With the benefit of a strong vote yesterday - a clear message from world cycling that it wants a change in leadership - I've got the support and authority of all of my friends and colleagues from all around the world.

"I think it will be actually not easy to make a new start but I will have a lot of support and I'm absolutely looking forward to mobilising that support to make the changes we all know need to be made."

Cookson would not commit to an amnesty for evidence of past practices of doping, but admitted a compromise may have to be reached to hear the full scale of the sport's problems.

"We are going to have to give a degree of support for those who want to co-operate," Cookson said.

Anti-doping is top of Cookson's agenda and one of his priorities is to call the World Anti-doping Agency to "establish very, very quickly the independency of the anti-doping body for cycling (and to) investigate the allegations from the past and look at the situation of what we can do in the future".

Cookson will also move to smooth the relationship with the International Olympic Committee.

He has already appointed three vice-presidents in France's David Lappartient, the president of the European Cycling Union, Egypt's Mohamed Azzam, the president of the African confederation, and Australian Tracey Gaudry, the president of the Oceania confederation.

"We're going to take the UCI in a new direction," Cookson said.

"There's a lot of work to be done, a lot of changes to be made. I won't have all of the answers to everything within a few days but we certainly can start this journey in the right place."

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