FEDERAL ELECTIONS. SGALLA: «MY PROPOSALS FOR A NEW, SAFER CYCLING»

POLITICS | 05/12/2024 | 08:18
di Roberto Sgalla
Roberto Sgalla will not be among the candidates for the Federation presidency, but he wants to bring his contribution to the debate and to the Federation that will be. For this reason, he sent an open letter to the three challengers - Isetti, Martinello, and Secchi - of the current president Dagnoni. We propose it to you because it opens up several debate fronts. Dear Friends, a few months ago, I had expressed my intention to run for the FCI Presidency, with the aim of bringing a contribution to some aspects of the Federation's life that I know well, if only because I have dealt with them for many years: road safety, the reform of the Highway Code, the issue of the role of safety figures during competitions, and finally, the organization of sporting events. In light of the assessment I have made, starting from professional and personal commitments that do not allow me to run an electoral campaign like those running for the Presidency and - allow me to say - to avoid the risk of favoring those who might benefit from the motto "divide et impera", I have decided to entrust my intentions to this document, hoping that among the contenders of the current President, there is someone who will make my ideas and proposals their own, in the ways and forms they deem appropriate. I will skip all the personal elements that concerned my removal from the leadership of the Race Directors and Safety Commission. I have nothing to complain about, except for one aspect that is decisive for me; to this day, I have not received any phone call or document communicating the President's choice (ratified by a Council that did not even feel the need to hear me). Unfortunately, as Don Abbondio said, "courage, if one doesn't have it, he can't give it to himself".
Let's get to the substance. During the years I held the mandate of CNDCS President, together with valid colleagues, I tried to give dignity, professionalism, and role to race directors and all the figures involved in the safety mechanism during races. I proudly contributed to the issuance of the Disciplinary Regulation, a state norm, albeit of lower rank, which clearly defines the race director figure. We are the only nation where this "professional" is well-defined with identified responsibilities. Beyond the fact that the FCI President had repeatedly announced that he would abolish or modify the Disciplinary Regulation; I remind myself that the only "improvement modifications" made are the result of the first Conference we organized in Riccione as a Commission, together with the Race Judges Commission. The Disciplinary Regulation is in force, and I am not aware of any initiatives different from those described here. To "help the growth process of these figures", the current President has worked to lower the educational qualification required to exercise the function of international and professional race director to the level of lower secondary school (i.e., middle school). Certainly, it is clear to everyone that the more the required education level is lowered, the more the entire category is pushed downward. Today, the job market requires a high school diploma for almost all professions.
Therefore, a first proposal is to restore dignity and role to race directors and other figures (e.g., for technical escorts, resume the reflection to qualify them as road auxiliaries) also to rebalance their position, which in recent times risks being downgraded compared to the equally important role of the judge.
Second proposal: concerns the entire road safety and new Highway Code front. We could say, paraphrasing a famous football phrase, that we "haven't touched the ball" or, to use cycling jargon, we haven't even been able to "hold the wheel". As is known, a significant modification to part of the Highway Code has been approved. Moreover, the delegation for the overall reorganization of the Highway Code is being approved. What role has the FCI played? Are we actually in agreement that the Federation should be interested in these issues? If we thought that the FCI should only deal with competitive sports, I would stop here. If, however, as I believe and hope, the Federation must be an important political entity in the field of bicycle safety and mobility and have a fundamental political weight to achieve important objectives, we must equip ourselves so that we can be up to the challenge and not be "insignificant", as we have been compared to other associations that have played a clear and important role. The President met with Interior Minister Piantedosi, result: "a commemorative photo". I hoped he would at least ask for the issuance of a circular to regulate suspension orders uniformly, that prefects would play a coordination role towards local entities (at least with unchanged legislation) through appropriate tables and service conferences. Nothing! He was heard by the Parliamentary Commission. Did he present an organic document? I will give some examples of the most urgent issues. Cycling as a whole needs to clearly specify the types of bicycles, their equipment (we still have the norm that would require racing bikes to have a bell and lights: on the latter aspect, I would at least leave them during training, clearly specifying the characteristics). Where should the bike transit? Everyone on cycle paths, where they exist? Even professionals when training? The issue of mandatory helmets. As you can see, at least these minimal objectives could and should have been achieved.
Third proposal: modification of art. 9 of the Highway Code. As everyone knows, this article underwent a significant modification, thanks to my contribution, but only for stage races. The organizers of one-day races know well what hurdles they must go through to organize them.
Fourth proposal: modification of art. 33 of the Constitution. Article 33 of the Constitution has been modified; today it does not only speak of "sport", that is, competitive events, but proclaims the "right to practice sports activities". As with all constitutional rights, central and local institutions have the obligation to remove obstacles that prevent its full realization and to promote the full implementation of the right itself. I realize that for the FCI, this modification went completely unnoticed, I believe also "not knowing" its content and what it could and should have done, following the regulations, in terms of calling on institutions (I think of the Ministry of the Interior, ANCI, the Ministry of Sport) to start discussion and consultation tables to modify art. 9 of the Highway Code, the procedures for granting authorizations and circulation suspension orders, to favor, in short, the right to practice sports activities. There is always time to recover, and I hope the new president will take the constitutional norm in hand and start the necessary paths to make the new constitutional provision effective.
For all this, I have long proposed to "convene" the "General States of Bicycle Safety and Mobility". I had done this with the current President, without any response (ACSI made the idea its own and realized a dignified event). I hypothesize a high moment in which the Federation can candidate itself to be a true "political entity" capable of confronting the Government and Institutions to reaffirm the centrality of bicycle mobility and safety policies in its various articulations. In the four years, our role has been limited, as I previously stated, to a "photo opportunity" with Minister Piantedosi, a hearing at the Parliamentary Commission discussing Highway Code modifications, of which we did not know the contents, and a "cobbled together" document after Antonelli's reprimand to the Emilia-Romagna regional committee; a superficial cut-and-paste, even in content, not discussed with anyone, which cannot even be considered a bottle thrown into an ocean, but a useless act. We could say succinctly, nothing has been received on this front.
That being said, and not wanting to continue complaining about an absolute absence of roles and political strategy, to help organizers and make their arduous role more feasible, to increase safety for cyclists given the extremely high number of deaths (212 in 2023 - ISTAT source), I intend to entrust my ideas and proposals to this document, asking the candidate who will want to take charge of including them in their electoral program. On my part, I am available to lend a hand to those who will embrace these ideas, trying to give more strength and legs to the same proposals, available to take on the commitments that the candidate President will deem appropriate.
Roberto Sgalla