Gianni Bugno's pride in what the CPA, the riders' association, has become
from 10/03/23
Gianni Bugno has led the world association of cyclists Cyclistes Professionnels Associés since 2010 and in a week's time he will leave a union that definitely has more weight and participation than in the past. After three terms at the head of the CPA, the two-time world champion will pass the baton to another president in the first online election in cycling history.
«The riders' association has grown so much. In 2010 there was only a president and secretary. Now the association is well structured and organised, the decision are taken by the national associations with the president as guarantor and by individual riders, the base decides. We have a direct dialogue with the president of the UCI, we collaborate with the other institutions and components of our movement, we are present in commissions that when I was elected did not even exist. I have never been a president who imposed himself: I democratised the movement and gave the riders a voice» Bugno comments proudly.
With his collaborators, he has achieved many important goals, starting with the admission of riders' representatives in the working tables on safety, materials, medical and anti-doping issues. Conquests that are now taken for granted, but which required a great deal of political work and relations, which allowed the riders to have their say on decisions that affect their profession and to influence the top management of the movement. The CPA under Bugno's leadership opened up to women with the CPA Women and promoted the birth of new national associations, allowing female and male cyclists to have representatives closer to them. It also improved race safety, the protocol for extreme weather conditions, created a platform for convenient and safe prize management for athletes, optimised the transition fund, achieved an increase in the prize money for races and negotiated better conditions for the joint agreement governing relations between riders and teams. He managed the pandemic emergency, the consequences in the sporting sphere of the war, fought to secure jobs and respect the rights of every person who works in cycling.
The aspect he is most proud of? «Riders' appreciation - replies Bugno. - It's not easy being president. I think I have contributed to giving more dignity to the rider, who today has a global improvement in welfare, social security and salary. With the UCI we talk and dialogue, they listen to us because without the riders there are no races. We are the leading actors. Been part of cycling from this side was a valuable experience for me. When you're a rider, you don't understand the problems and you're always criticising, it's easy to do that: then you pass by, you confront the teams and the organisers, and you understand their point of view. You often have to find compromises for the good of the whole movement».
The new CPA president will be elected in Milan on 17 March. Gianni Bugno is confident that the association's future will be bright. «I thank all those who have served the group over the years. Many other goals I am sure will be achieved by the one who will succeed me - assures Bugno. - Among the projects we are pursuing with Laura Mora, general secretary of the association, is the development of a plan to help former riders start a new career once they have finished cycling, and a reform to improve the handling of athletes' sensitive data, which are increasingly used in the business of cycling and esports. We would also like to establish a collaboration between former riders and organisers of smaller races who will be able to rely on the experience and know-how of the athletes to improve the safety of their events. I leave my successor with many projects in the pipeline, for which we will need the effort of all parties, constant dialogue and a lot of diplomacy, which I have always tried to practise, both inside and outside the association, in the name of the common good. I wish the new board well in its work and ask it to continue on the path taken. If the CPA continues to work in the interest of the riders, it will never go wrong».
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