Chris Froome has reiterated his call for a delay in Thursday’s planned president elections by the Association of Professional Cyclists to allow riders to have their voice heard – or face the possibility of a strike.
Italian Gianni Bugno, the current president, is facing a challenge from Britain’s David Millar at the union’s general assembly in Innsbruck.
Froome and 2018 Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas, as well as Dutchman Tom Dumoulin, are among a group of 27 cyclists who have written to their union calling for a review of the current voting system.
And if you’re French, Italian, Spanish, Swiss, Portuguese or American you CANNOT vote. Got to wonder who this union actually represents.
— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) September 17, 2018
While all professional cyclists are obliged to pay into the union, they are not all permitted to vote directly. Instead member associations cast a block ballot, which sees the likes of France hold 150 votes, Italy 124 and Spain 86.
Any riders whose nation is not a CPA member association can cast an individual vote, but that has to be done in person rather than some form of remote electronic system.
The group of riders who wrote to the CPA believe such a set up is unfair and offers the opportunity for Bugno to be potentially reelected for another four-year term against the majority wishes of the collective peloton.
Why does the @cpacycling statement sound like it’s us against them?! It’s supposed to be OUR union https://t.co/kH6HPNmpIj
— Geraint Thomas (@GeraintThomas86) September 9, 2018
Froome, the four-time Tour de France winner with Team Sky, has suggested if riders feel their wishes are not being represented, then there could be drastic direct action taken.
“I wouldn’t write off the possibility of it going to a strike or something else down the line, it is a pretty dire situation to be honest,” Froome said on Sky Sports News.
“There has been a lot of back and forth behind the scenes (of the election), and it seems to be steam-rolling ahead nonetheless.
If the @cpacycling truly believed they were doing a great job, then they would be confident of winning any election because the voters would be happy. Communication is key to any union, and that means in both directions. Listen to the people you represent.
— Dan Martin (@DanMartin86) September 26, 2018
“There is not really much we riders can do about that other than to try to work out a way forwards after the election.
“Hopefully we can have another election where the riders can actually vote.
“It has been quite difficult for all the riders to actually get together because not everyone actually understood what was going on and the fact that it wasn’t actually possible for them to vote.
Working group: Risks of online voting outweigh its benefits https://t.co/4FWq0TUoaD
— CPA Cycling (@cpacycling) September 17, 2018
“This has been quite a process trying to get everyone united in that sense.
“I really feel as if it has gained a lot of momentum now and the riders do want a say. Hopefully we will be able to make that happen in the future.”
Froome added: “I would love to see the election (on Thursday) postponed. If there are any riders who do turn out tomorrow and are able to get to the election venue, (I would love for them) to hold a meeting and discus a way to redo the election in a better way going forward.”
