‘THE MOST POWERFUL MAN IN WORLD CYCLING’ Brian Cookson, OBE has never won an Olympic or World Championship medal and he’s never won the Tour de France. By his own omission he was “never good enough to be a professional cyclist and never selected to compete for Great Britain”. The media have referred to him as the most powerful man in world cycling on more than one occasion, but it’s fair to say that unless you are a serious follower of cycling, you may never have heard of him
B
rian is a Preston man who is widely acknowledged for restoring integrity back into the sport of cycling. He has recently been appointed Chair of the Board of Active Lancashire, the strategic lead for sport and physical activity in the county. He brings a wealth of experience within sport to the role, most notably in the world of cycling where he held the position of President for the British Cycling Federation and the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the global governing body for cycling.
Brain said: “I’ve worked for the sport as a local, regional, national and international official for forty years. I spent nine years (1984-93) as a member of the British Cycling Federation’s Racing Committee. “In November 1996, when the entire BCF Board was removed from office on a vote of no confidence, I headed up an Emergency Committee that took over the running of that organisation. I became its President, leading its transformation from a basket-case into an award-winning organisation, with British riders winning
multiple Olympic and Paralympic medals, numerous world championships, and most of the greatest races of the world cycling calendar.”
BRIAN WAS AWARDED AN OBE FOR SERVICES TO CYCLING IN 2008 AND PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN IMPROVING THE PERCEPTION AND INTEGRITY OF THE SPORT DURING THE LAST DECADE Brian was awarded an OBE for services to cycling in 2008 and played a key role in improving the perception and integrity of the sport during the last decade, whilst developing opportunities for previously neglected areas within the sport such as women’s cycling and cycling in developing nations. By the end of 2012, Great Britain had won almost all the cycling golds at the London Olympic and Paralympic Games, and Team GB were the world’s top-ranked
