(CNN) -- British cycling chief Brian Cookson announced Tuesday he would challenge Irishman Pat McQuaid for the top job at the UCI -- promising to clean up the sport in the wake of the Lance Armstrong doping scandal. Cookson, 61, told CNN that he was standing for election as president of the world governing body because he was unhappy with its failure to deal with the issues raised since Armstrong made his public admission of guilt last year. "We are still mired in controversy from the Lance Armstrong era," said Cookson. "We need to clean that up and deal with historic accusations."
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Battle ahead for top job in world cycling
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Brian Cookson will oppose Pat McQuaid for UCI presidency
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Cookson promises to clean up the sport and great transparency
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McQuaid has been criticized for his handling of Lance Armstrong affair
In a statement released at the time, @placeholder said he stood by his record: "I put myself forward to serve another term as UCI president on my record of developing the sport throughout the world and on combating the scourge of doping in cycling," he said.