The president of Polish Cycling Federation (PZKol) Dariusz Banaszek resigned on Friday, paving the way forward for the talks between the embattled federation and Poland's Sports and Tourism Ministry (MSiT).
Banaszek, who served as president since January 2017, leaves a federation in financial hardship and with a heavily strained relationship with the national government.
The resignation comes two months after a major scandal shook the federation and the Polish cycling scene. First, media publications uncovered management problems, conflicts between officials, as well as a fallout with the federation's sponsor – shoe manufacturer CCC. Then, in late November, accusations of a cover-up of an audit sparked public outcry as a former vice-president of the federation broke the silence and disclosed the case to the media. He accused Banaszek of mishandling the crisis and said that audit's preliminary results allegedly included evidence of sexual abuse and financial wrongdoings by one of the federation's ex-officials.
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Banaszek spent the final days of November and first weeks of December defending his management style and contradictory decisions regarding the audit. Meanwhile, the federation's main backers – Poland's Ministry of Sports and Tourism and petrol refiner PKN Orlen – both suspended their funding. The ministry demanded the resignation of the whole executive board and began auditing federation's finances, at the same time refusing to talk to its representatives.
As board members filed their resignations, Banaszek first promised to resign during a general meeting of the local delegates in late December. However, at the very meeting he refused to step down and in doing so he received strong support from the local structures. With a new board elected, Banaszek vowed to restore talks with the ministry and the federation's image, at the same time hinting that another failure may be his last as the president.
Banaszek's attempts at patching things up with the government proved unsuccessful, however. Witold Banka, Poland's Sports and Tourism minister, declared at the outset of the crisis that the athletes would be supported directly and on January 19 he announced that the ministry reached an agreement with PKN Orlen. For the next three months, Poland's major state-owned company will fund all riders who had earlier been granted ministerial scholarships or are a part of the so-called "Team100" – program for prospective Olympians.
All quiet on the audit front
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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