Hein Verbruggen
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Hein Verbruggen (21 June 1941 – 14 June 2017) was a Dutch sports administrator who was president of the
Union Cycliste Internationale The ''Union Cycliste Internationale'' (UCI; ; en, International Cycling Union) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland. The UCI issues racing ...
(UCI) from 1991 till 2005 and president of
SportAccord Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) is the umbrella organisation for all (Olympic and non-Olympic) international sports federations as well as organisers of multi-sports games and sport-related international association ...
from 2004 to 2013. He was an honorary member of the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
(IOC) since 2008. Previously, he was a member of the IOC and Chairman of the Coordination Commission for the Games of the
XXIX Olympiad The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...
in Beijing in 2008. He is highly suspected to have protected
Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 Tour de ...
.


Biography

Born in
Helmond Helmond (; called ''Héllemond'' in the local dialect) is a city and municipality in the Metropoolregio Eindhoven of the province of North Brabant in the Southern Netherlands. Helmond is home to several textile and metal companies. The Vlisco fa ...
, Verbruggen studied at the Nyenrode Business Universiteit. Afterwards, he became a sales manager. In 1970, when he was a sales manager at
Mars, Incorporated Mars, Incorporated is an American multinational manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products and a provider of animal care services, with US$40 billion in annual sales in 2021. Mars was ranked as the fourth-largest priva ...
, he convinced them to sponsor a cycling team, to get access to the Belgian market. In 1975, he became a member of the professional cycling committee of the
Royal Dutch Cycling Union The Royal Dutch Cycling Union or KNWU (in Dutch: ''Koninklijke Nederlandsche Wielren Unie'') is the national governing body of cycle racing in the Netherlands. The aim of the KNWU is to give adequate support for all types of cycling in the Nether ...
(KNWU). In 1979, Verbruggen became a member of the board of the Fédération Internationale de Cyclisme Professionnel (FICP). He became vice-president in 1982, and president in 1984. From 1991 to 2005, Verbruggen was president of the UCI. From 1996 on, he was also member of the IOC. During that time, Verbruggen combined the FICP (for professional cyclists) and the FIAC (for amateur cyclists) in the UCI. Because the Olympic organisation had the FIAC as partners, it had been impossible before then for professional cyclists to enter the Olympic Games, but from the
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
, professional athletes could compete. In his last year, he launched the
UCI ProTour The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI (International Cycling Union). Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, e ...
. In 2005, Verbruggen became Officer in the
Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...
. Later that year, Verbruggen resigned as president of the UCI, and became vice-president. He then stopped being a member of the IOC, but was reinstated during the
2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...
. After the
2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
, Verbruggen resigned from the UCI management committee and as member of the IOC. The IOC then made him an honorary member, as did the Dutch Olympic Committee. As of 2005, Verbruggen remained an "honorary president" of the UCI.


Titles and honours

*Honorary UCI-President (since 2005) *Honorary IOC- Member (since 2008) *Honorary Member Dutch Olympic Committee (NOC*NSF) *Honorary Member Royal Dutch Cycling Federation (KNWU-1994) *Officer in the Order of Oranje-Nassau (since 2005) *Honorary Citizen of the City of Beijing (since 2009) *Most influential Overseas Expert in China over the past 30 years (2008) *Honorary
SportAccord Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) is the umbrella organisation for all (Olympic and non-Olympic) international sports federations as well as organisers of multi-sports games and sport-related international association ...
President (since 2013)


Defamation suits

Verbruggen (sometimes along with
Pat McQuaid Patrick "Pat" McQuaid (born 5 September 1949 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish road racing cyclist. He had a strong amateur career and a brief professional period, before moving into race promotion and administration in Ireland and globally, s ...
) has been involved in several
defamation Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
suits against people who accused UCI of corruption in regard to doping. In 2002 UCI sued
Festina Festina F16184 Festina is a Spanish watch brand. In 1985, businessman Miguel Rodríguez acquired Festina, a brand founded in Switzerland in 1902, thus forming the ''Festina-Lotus group.'' History Festina was created in 1902 by the Stüdi f ...
soigneur A cycling team is a group of cyclists who join a team or are acquired and train together to compete in bicycle races whether amateur or professional – and the supporting personnel. Cycling teams are most important in road bicycle racing, whic ...
Willy Voet Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scre ...
for
defamation Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
over claims in his book ''Breaking the Chain''. In 2004 the UCI won the case,UCI wins legal battle against Voet
Anthony Tan, cyclingnews.com, May 20, 2006, Updated: April 20, 2009, retr 2012 10 22
and in 2006 won the appeal. Voet had made various claims about UCI and Verbruggen's alleged behavior related to an alleged issue with
Lidocaine Lidocaine, also known as lignocaine and sold under the brand name Xylocaine among others, is a local anesthetic of the amino amide type. It is also used to treat ventricular tachycardia. When used for local anaesthesia or in nerve blocks, lidoca ...
and
Laurent Brochard Laurent Brochard (born 26 March 1968 in Le Mans, France) is a retired professional road racing cyclist from France. In 1997 he won a stage of the Tour de France and became world road champion in San Sebastián, Spain. Brochard was a runner and s ...
at the
1997 UCI Road World Championships The 1997 UCI Road World Championships took place in San Sebastián, Spain, between October 7 and October 12, 1997. The event consisted of a road race and a time trial for men, women, men under 23, junior men and junior women. In 2002 UCI sued Fest ...
. Another defamation suit was brought against
Floyd Landis Floyd Landis (born October 14, 1975) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. He finished first at the 2006 Tour de France, and would have been the third non-European winner in the event's history, but was disqualified after test ...
in 2011 for some of the aforementioned claims about Lance Armstrong and the UCI. The case against Landis was ruled in UCI's favor. Another defamation lawsuit was against WADA Chief Dick Pound regarding his comments about doping and UCI. The lawsuit was settled by the parties in 2009. Pound retracted his comments and acknowledged that the UCI was "doing good work to eliminate cheats from their sport.” Another was filed by the UCI, Pat McQuaid and Hein Verbruggen against former cyclist and journalist
Paul Kimmage Paul Kimmage (born 7 May 1962 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish sports journalist and former amateur and professional road bicycle racer, who was road race champion of Ireland in 1981, and competed in the 1984 Olympic Games. He wrote for ''The ...
in 2012, again related to the accusations about Armstrong and UCI. The lawsuit was later dropped by the UCI and Pat McQuaid but not by Verbruggen. On the 26th of May 2016, the judge ruled once more in favour of Hein Verbruggen by prohibiting Paul Kimmage to affirm that Hein Verbruggen knowingly tolerated doping or to make any allegations of the same kind. The Judge also forbade Paul Kimmage to claim that Hein Verbruggen hid controls, is dishonest, did not behave responsibly, did not apply the same rules for all, did not chase Lance Armstrong after he had provided an antedated certificate. The Judge also sentenced Paul Kimmage to pay Hein Verbruggen 12.000 Swiss Francs; covering his legal fees. Paul Kimmage was also ordered to publish corrections in several papers. In addition Kimmage, who had received money from the public to prepare a defence, decided to sue Verbruggen himself in a criminal court. He stated that he was doing it for the whistleblowers who were defamed by the UCI. The public prosecutor ruled that there was no case and dismissed Kimmage's complaint. Kimmage appealed the decision to the court and the court once more decided in favour of Verbruggen.


Controversy

In July 2008, a BBC investigation found documents indicating that over three million dollars were paid by Japanese race organizers as reimbursements for UCI expenses during Verbruggen's tenure as president, including five flights to the Netherlands for Verbruggen personally in 1999. The investigation cited sources within the UCI who confirmed that the repayments were "explicitly a payback for getting
keirin – literally "racing cycle" – is a form of motor-paced cycle racing in which track cyclists sprint for victory following a speed-controlled start behind a motorized or non-motorized pacer. It was developed in Japan around 1948 for gamblin ...
into the
Games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...
". Verbruggen denied any wrongdoing and a UCI press release of 28 July 2008 explained that contracts had been signed with Japanese cycling groups wanting to invest in the development of track cycling and that this matter was unrelated to the inclusion of
keirin – literally "racing cycle" – is a form of motor-paced cycle racing in which track cyclists sprint for victory following a speed-controlled start behind a motorized or non-motorized pacer. It was developed in Japan around 1948 for gamblin ...
, together with three other track disciplines, in the Olympic Games. These inclusions had already been decided by the IOC six months earlier. No evidence has ever been produced to back up the claim. In the 2015 report of the Cycling Independent Reform Commission it was once more confirmed there was no issue. For the
2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
in Beijing,
IOC President The president of the International Olympic Committee is head of the executive board that assumes the general overall responsibility for the administration of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the management of its affairs. The IOC E ...
Jacques Rogge Jacques Jean Marie Rogge, Count Rogge (, ; 2 May 1942 – 29 August 2021) was a Belgian sports administrator and physician who served as the eighth President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 2001 to 2013. In 2013, Rogge beca ...
announced in mid-July 2008 that there would be no Internet censorship by the
mainland Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...
authorities: "for the first time, foreign media will be able to report freely and publish their work freely in China. " However, by 30 July 2008, IOC spokesman
Kevan Gosper Richard Kevan Gosper, AO (born 19 December 1933) is an Australian former athlete who mainly competed in the 400 metres. He was formerly a Vice President of the International Olympic Committee, and combined Chairman and CEO of Shell Australia ...
announced that the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
would indeed be censored for
journalists A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
. Gosper, who said he had not heard about this, suggested that high IOC officials (probably including the
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
Hein Verbruggen and Swiss IOC Executive Director, Gilbert Felli – and most likely with Rogge's knowledge) had made a secret deal with Chinese officials to allow the censorship, without the knowledge of either the press or most members of the IOC. Rogge later denied that any such meeting had taken place, but did not insist that China adhere to its prior assurances that the Internet would not be censored. In May 2010,
Floyd Landis Floyd Landis (born October 14, 1975) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. He finished first at the 2006 Tour de France, and would have been the third non-European winner in the event's history, but was disqualified after test ...
accused Verbruggen of accepting a $100,000 bribe from
Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 Tour de ...
to cover-up a positive dope control in 2001. Verbruggen denied the allegation, but confirmed that Armstrong representatives had approached the UCI with the intention of donating money. Verbruggen indicated that Armstrong's money would not have gone toward testing, but may have been used to purchase a Sysmex machine to analyze blood samples.
Pat McQuaid Patrick "Pat" McQuaid (born 5 September 1949 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish road racing cyclist. He had a strong amateur career and a brief professional period, before moving into race promotion and administration in Ireland and globally, s ...
, Verbruggen's successor as UCI president, later confirmed that Armstrong made two donations during Verburggen's tenure: a personal check for $25,000 in 2002, which went toward doping controls for junior racers, and a $100,000 donation from Armstrong's management company in 2005, which went toward the Sysmex machine. Given UCI's endorsement of USADA's decision that the donation was made by the leader of one of the most sophisticated, systematic and successful doping programs in sporting history, for the express purpose of improving doping controls, Verbruggen's acceptance of the donation has not been without controversy. McQuaid also conceded that the UCI's acceptance of Armstrong's money may have been a mistake. The Cycling Independent Reform Commission concluded in February 2015 that Lance Armstrong did not test positive and confirmed that it didn't find any indication of a financial agreement or corruption. In July 2010, an email correspondence between Landis and Verbruggen was leaked to
The New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in t ...
, in which Verbruggen attacked Landis in the wake of accusations Landis made about the UCI and Lance Armstrong. The e-mails were later reproduced at Cyclingnews.com. USADA's "reasoned decision" on Lance Armstrong quotes Verbruggen as saying in May 2011: "There is nothing. I repeat again: Lance Armstrong has never used doping. Never, never, never. I say this not because I am a friend of his, because that is not true. I say it because I'm sure." Verbruggen stated that he never said that Armstrong had never used doping, but that Armstrong never tested positive, as was correctly reported by AP on 8 June 2010. In March 2013, it was revealed that Hein Verbruggen while in charge of Summer 2008 Olympics bids at sometime in the early 2000s demanded France to adapt its anti-doping laws to bring them in line with the anti-doping rules of the IOC during the Olympic Games. The sports minister at the time,
Marie-George Buffet Marie-George Buffet (née Kosellek; born 7 May 1949) is a French politician. She was the head of the French Communist Party (PCF) from 2001 to 2010. She joined the Party in 1969, and she served in the government as Minister of Youth Affairs an ...
, was later instructed by the prime minister after meetings with other IOC representatives to deliver a letter agreeing to this adaptation. English summary: When Paris lost its bid to Beijing, certain French media falsely suggested that the Agreement was related to relaxing doping rules whereas the agreement was clearly related to bringing the French rules in line with those of the IOC during games time (a prerequisite for all Olympic Games). In July 2013, it was revealed that from 2001 to 2004, Verbruggen had some of his money managed by the owner of USA Cycling and part owner of the United States Postal Service professional cycling team,
Thom Weisel Thomas "Thom" Weisel (born February 1941) is an American banker, businessman, and investor. He was one of the pioneers in the development of the high tech industry in Silicon Valley. Weisel is the founder of Montgomery Securities and later Th ...
. The broker was
Jim Ochowicz Jim Ochowicz (born December 23, 1951) is a former Olympic bicyclist and manager of UCI WorldTeam . He served as president of the USA Cycling Board of Directors from 2002 to 2006.http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=3512 Mark Abramson ...
, former President of the USA Cycling Board of Directors and team manager of the BMC professional bicycle racing team.


See also

*
SportAccord Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) is the umbrella organisation for all (Olympic and non-Olympic) international sports federations as well as organisers of multi-sports games and sport-related international association ...


References


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verbruggen, Hein 1941 births 2017 deaths Dutch sports executives and administrators International Olympic Committee members Nyenrode Business University alumni People from Helmond Presidents of UCI Deaths from cancer in the Netherlands Deaths from leukemia