Will stand down in September; says role has become ‘almost full time,’ and he can’t continue
Having been in the role of president of Cycling Australia since November 2009, Klaus Mueller has announced that he will step down from the position.
A board meeting held today in Sydney was expected as possibly causing change at the top and that’s what materialised, with Mueller confirming that he will stand aside.
“It’s been an honour to lead Cycling Australia through many highs and lows. In recent times the position has grown into almost a full time role, which I can simply no longer manage,” he said. “Given the challenges the sport is currently facing the timing is right to hand the reigns over to a new leader with a different skill set to enable the sport to realise its enormous commercial potential.”
Meuller is a barrister and previously spent six years on the board of CA prior to becoming president in November 2009.
He agreed today to stay in the role until the end of September. In order to aid the transition, the board has appointed a nominations committee. Its role will be to make recommendations to the board as to who should fill the vacancy, using a recruitment process as part of that function.
Cycling Australia’s vice President Mark Fulcher today paid tribute to the outgoing president, thinking him for what he termed a “significant contribution” to Australian cycling.
“The presidency of a top tier Olympic sport can be a highly rewarding role, but also requires immense commitment. Klaus has worked tirelessly to lead the sport with great passion and integrity and we wish him every success in his future endeavours.”
Meuller said that personal highlights of the position included seeing Anna Meares winning a gold medal in London 2012, Cadel Evan’s 2011 Tour win, Michael Matthews’ Under 23 world championship victory in 2010 in Geelong and Rachel Neylan’s silver medal at the 2012 worlds.
He also said that he had “drawn great pride” from Cycling Australia’s ability to maximise limited resources and to produce so many strong young riders. He referred to the CA team winning six gold medals at the junior track worlds as an example.
He pledged to continue to push for change within the UCI in order to help restore the reputation of the sport.
Meanwhile UCI presidential contender Brian Cookson spoke before the Cycling Australian board today, presenting his manifesto. He is seeking backing from the board in terms of CA’s support in the presidential election.
Cookson tweeted afterwards that he felt the meeting was productive. “I presented my manifesto to delegates from the Australian Cycling Federation today. It was great to hear their thoughts,” he wrote.