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Brian Cookson

@briancookson.bsky.social
323 followers 163 following 81 posts

Chair @ActiveLancs. Former President of @UCI_cycling and @BritishCycling. Retired urban regenerationist. For more info, see my website www.briancookson.com. Opinions personal.

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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
Re today’s stage of the Giro d’Italia - sorry, but in perfect weather conditions, and with no other significant unexpected factors, it really should NEVER be necessary to take a section of a pre-planned finish out of the stage in the last few minutes of the race.
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Enjoying watching the Giro d’Italia. Inspired by the landscapes of Italy, I’ve just finished painting this mural in the courtyard of my son Jack’s delicatessen / cafe-bar, Delicio Whalley. What do you think, cycling friends?
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
All the Paris-Roubaix teams on the latest technology today. But, hang on. So many punctures, often with riders crashing. If only there was some sort of tyre system with a tube inside, and a strong cotton outer, stitched into a tube shape then stuck on to a rim with special glue…
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Sorry to hear of the passing of Sir Craig Reedie, the greatest British sports administrator ever, in my opinion. An absolute gentleman, with the highest levels of integrity and honesty. Rest in peace my friend, it was an honour to have known you.
theguardian.com
Sir Craig Reedie, key London 2012 Olympics figure and former BOA chair, dies aged 84
Sir Craig Reedie, a giant of the Olympic movement, who served as chair of the British Olympic Association for more than a decade and was instrumental in bringing the Games to London in 2012, has died ...
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 05/07/2025
Hang on @tntsports you’re promising we won’t miss a minute of live coverage of @LeTour but now you’re treating us to repetitive ad breaks every few minutes, after previously providing ad-free streaming to subscribers. Maybe change your name to @pricegougingexperts?
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
Why on earth would Netflix release the latest series of their Tour de France Unchained, based on the 2024 race, a couple of days before the 2025 race starts? Literally a spoiler.
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
Excellent coverage of Simon Yates’ win in the Giro d’Italia.
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
Please will someone ask Cycling Up To Date website to stop sending out notifications that are spoilers, even when you’re watching with a few minutes delay.
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Tree of the Day? Maybe. Goat of the Day? Definitely. Photo taken at Pollença, Mallorca today.
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Reposted by Brian Cookson
Steve Maxwell @rstevenmaxwell.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
New AIRmail pro cycling newsletter out today …. theouterline.substack.com/p/pogacar-cont… …. Pogacar continues his dominant run; “The Athletic” weighs in on cycling’s future; Uno-X’s clever use of jerseys; Women’s cycling is more exciting these days; Cycling TV is still stuck in the past ….
theouterline.substack.com
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
I never cease to be amazed by the people who discover cycle racing, fall in love with its unique nature, its heritage, its history, its complexity and its unpredictability, then decide it should be changed to be more like other sports. It shouldn't. It isn't like other sports. Stop this nonsense.
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
I'm supporting this petition, and I've also emailed Ofcom Chair Lord Grade about the issue of the apparent broadcasting monopoly position of WBD/Discovery regarding cycling and other sports in the UK. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/71...
petition.parliament.uk
Petition: Make the Tour de France a Category A event so it is free-to-air
Make the Tour de France a Category A event to ensure it remains free-to-air in the UK.
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
It's exactly ten years ago since @UCI_cycling published the report of the Cycling Independent Reform Commission. Not everyone was happy with all of it, but I believe it significantly helped change the sport for better. Here's a link to the report. www.sportsintegrityinitiative.com/wp-content/u...
sportsintegrityinitiative.com
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
I heard one of the executives of @WBDsports was out shopping the other day. Went in to a department store, took a t-shirt and a pair of jeans to the till, but the assistant said "Yes, sir, fine, but you'll also have to buy an Armani suit as well. That's company policy".....
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
Great to see a full house at the @BritishCycling National Track Championships at @N_CyclingCentre aka Manchester Velodrome last night.
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
For me, Geraint Thomas represents all the best things about the golden era of British Cycling. A talented athlete spotted at an early age and given all the right support at every stage of his career, certainly. But...1/3
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Looking forward to the BBC investigation into how many other people’s CVs on LinkedIn have been, er, updated today. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Questions raised over Rachel Reeves’s CV and expenses after BBC investigation
The BBC has established the Chancellor left the Bank of England nine months earlier than she states in her LinkedIn profile.
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
If you’re upset about WBD's decision to scrap Eurosport in the UK and Ireland, and incorporate cycling and several other sports into TNT channels, it’s quite a simple matter to make a complaint to the Competition and Markets Authority here; www.gov.uk/government/o...
gov.uk
Competition and Markets Authority
We help people, businesses and the UK economy by promoting competitive markets and tackling unfair behaviour. CMA is a non-ministerial department.
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Following controversy over WBD's decision to scrap Eurosport in the UK and Ireland, and incorporate cycling and several other sports into TNT channels, at a 400% price increase, I wrote an op-ed piece for the Escape Collective. You can read it here;
escapecollective.com
Brian Cookson: Why isn’t buying cycling TV coverage just like buying beans? - Escape Collective
The former UCI President gives his thoughts on WBD's recent price hike.
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
This is worth a listen if you are interested in understanding how cycling came to be dominated by the Tour de France and its owner ASO. open.spotify.com/episode/4TEm...
open.spotify.com
How the ASO aquired the Tour de France
Overnight Success · Episode
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 01/02/2025
I’ve been thinking more about the WBD decision to incorporate Eurosport and Discovery+ coverage of sports including cycling, in the UK and Ireland, into new TNT channels, with a massive price increase. Here’s an alternative way to look at this. 🧵
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
What's most disappointing about this is the total misunderstanding of the asset that WBD/Disney/Eurosport have had in broadcasting/ streaming cycling. Packaging it in with other bigger sports in a "Premium" package is completely the wrong thing to do. 1/2. escapecollective.com/tnt-blows-up...
escapecollective.com
TNT blows up cycling TV coverage with 443% price increase - Escape Collective
Eurosport is being shut down in the UK and Ireland, and prices are going up.
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
This Tree of the Day is from my walk along the River Calder at Whalley in Lancashire, UK. It’s a hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) that’s clearly seen better days, but is determinedly hanging on to the riverbank.
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 11/01/2025
Some important news. Today I made a Burnt Basque Cheesecake. I just thought you’d like to know. 😉
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Reposted by Brian Cookson
2025 Tour of the Reservoir @tourofthereservoir.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
In prepration for the announcement of this years event, we’ve moved over from X and will be deleting our account there. Please help us spread the word we’re here!🥴😂
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
Thought I would contribute to the debate about the future of the Olympic Games. Here’s my letter in today’s Guardian. www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/j...
theguardian.com
Tweaking the Olympics cycle is a champion idea | Letters
Letters: Give the Games a boost by moving indoor sports to the winter event, writes Brian Cookson, and other readers respond to an article in which Sean Ingle suggested staging the summer Games more f...
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 26/12/2024
Please someone tell @BBC News that it’s “creator” not “creater”!
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
x.com/theouterline...
x.com
x.com
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 14/12/2024
A splendid oak Tree of the Day from my morning walk. On Clark's Hill, in effect the lower slopes of Pendle Hill, near both Whalley and Wiswell in the Ribble Valley, UK.
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 14/12/2024
Essential reading for anyone who cares about the future of cycle road racing in Great Britain. So many pertinent issues that need to be addressed. thebritishcontinental.co.uk/2024/12/14/c...
thebritishcontinental.co.uk
Cold Dark North refocuses for 2025: Capernwray takes centre stage
The Capernwray road race will return on 5 April next season but frustrations wth BC mean organisers Cold Dark North won’t run the Aughton and Oakenclough road races in 2025
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
Anybody else been watching the new version of The Day of the Jackal? Implausible casting (apart from Eddie Redmayne perhaps), implausible plot…🧵
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
Nice copse of silver birch Trees of the Day not far from the London Olympic Velodrome.
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
Nice walk around the London Olympic Park in the sunshine this morning. Always good to remind myself what a brilliant building the velodrome is.
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Nice interview in The Guardian today; www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/d...
theguardian.com
‘I kept his secret’: Emma Finucane on pushing past limits and her boyfriend’s cycling defection
Triple Olympic medallist tells Donald McRae about learning to manage the storm of emotion that engulfed her in the Paris velodrome
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
One of my favourite groups of sycamore Trees of the Day. Seems like the sheep on Whalley Nab, Lancashire UK, like them too. Nice blue sky too. 😉
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
One thing I’ve learned and observed over the years is that it’s never a good idea to appease or cover up wrongdoing. It always comes out in the end. A number of current examples of that at the moment.
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
Happy #LancashireDay from my favourite oak tree on a cold but sunny bike ride earlier!
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Brian Cookson @briancookson.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
As my introduction to Bluesky, here’s one of my best Tree of the Day photos. It’s an oak tree near Bashall Eaves, Lancashire.
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