International Cycling Association - The End of The ICA

The End of The ICA

"After a modest start in the early 1890s," said the British cycling official George Herbert Stancer, " achieved considerable success, eventually gaining the support of all the important sport-controlling bodies in the cycling world. But he went on:

"Then discord began to simmer in France, where objection was taken to Britain's alleged domination over international racing. This domination was more apparent than real, for the NCU exercised no control or influence over the independent governing bodies of Scotland, Ireland, Australia, South Africa and Canada. Wales, I think, was not represented. France, to put it plainly, wanted to rule the roost and the method adopted to achieve that end was not particularly creditable."

France's objection was that Britain had more than one vote and more than one team in championships. The NCU represented only England and the associations of the other individual nations that made up the United Kingdom were separately represented.

The sequence of world championships meant that France was due to promote them, in Paris, in 1900. France no longer wanted to tolerate the system in which several British teams competed and a proposal at an ICA meeting before the 1900 championships called for the UK to be limited to one. Stancer said no warning had been given and that representatives of Scotland, Ireland and three colonies included in the motion were not present. Sturmey succeeded in having the proposal postponed rather than have the countries "kicked out in their absence," as Stancer put it.

Before the fresh meeting was held, Stancer said, France convened a meeting in Paris and formed the Union Cycliste Internationale. Not only would it permit just one team from the United Kingdom but the NCU and Britain's other governing bodies were excluded because they had not been at the founding meeting. It took until 1903 for Britain to be admitted.