[citation needed] Cookson made a statement following the doping scandals of the 2007 Tour de France, urging the organisers not to give up the fight for a clean sport.

[2] Cookson announced on 4 June 2013 that he would be running for election as President of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)[3] – the international federation for the sport of cycling.

[citation needed] More recently he has completed a number of sportive events, including l'Etape du Tour, the Fred Whitton Challenge and the Ride with Brad.

[citation needed] Cookson was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours for services to sport,[5] and was made an Honorary Fellow of the University of Central Lancashire in 2009.

[citation needed] He was elected a member of the British Olympic Association's executive committee for a third term in October 2005, and again re-elected in November 2007.