Cycling chief sent in Kroll team to secure computers after election Political infighting in cycling reached such levels of intensity that the new president of the sport's governing body felt obliged to send corporate investigators into its headquarters within minutes of his election to secure its computers. Brian Cookson defeated the incumbent president Pat McQuaid in a bitter and volatile election last month following a campaign dominated by the fallout of the Lance Armstrong doping crisis and how best to repair cycling's battered reputation. Months of fierce accusations and conflict resulted in the election of Mr Cookson, the former head of British Cycling, by 24 votes to 18 at the congress of the governing body, Union Cycliste Internationale, held in Florence. Unbeknown to UCI members, the election result was quickly relayed to Kroll operatives positioned outside UCI headquarters in Aigle, Switzerland, and working under instruction from Mr Cookson. "They had to secure the computers," Mr Cookson said in his first interview since his election. They took all the back-up tapes and all the IT stuff. They were available to make sure that nothing was destroyed that shouldn't be destroyed. Asked if he believed there was anything that was likely to have been destroyed, Mr Cookson said: "I don't like to think there was anything that serious, but we had to take the precaution." The new president was elected on a manifesto promising an independent anti-doping unit, harsher penalties for riders guilty of doping and also "doping enablers" such as team managers and doctors, truth and reconciliation hearings and more transparent decision-making. He has already spoken of his desire for Mr Armstrong, the disgraced Texan who was earlier this year stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, to appear in front of a truth and reconciliation hearing. Mr Cookson said he had already made progress with the World Anti-Doping Agency, which crossed swords with the UCI this year. "We can establish a really good relationship with Wada," said Mr Cookson. Changes are being well received. It's not going to start and end within 100 days. Within six months, we will have made major progress. Mr Cookson has begun to ring the changes at the UCI. He has appointed three new vice-presidents, while Philippe Verbiest, the governing body's legal counsel, and Christophe Hubschmid, its director-general, have left. The new president has also appointed Martin Gibbs as his chief of staff, rewarding British Cycling's former policy and legal affairs director who was a key member of his election campaign team. Mr Cookson admitted to early doubts about whether he had the skills for the job. "I never had the ambition to become UCI president," he said. But as the campaign unwound, he became more assertive. "It was not so much about self-confidence," he said. I like to think I'm reasonably modest, but where you're in a leadership position there are times to be modest and self-effacing and times to put it aside. Requests for comment were not returned by Mr McQuaid.