[7][2] McQuaid, his brother Kieron, and Sean Kelly, went to South Africa to ride the Rapport Tour stage-race in preparation for the 1976 Olympic Games.

With a young family, at the age of 26, he was offered an interview for a permanent post, but chose instead to leave the job and focus on racing in anticipation of the following year's Montreal Olympic Games.

The idea did not immediately develop, but in 1984, McQuaid persuaded Kelloggs to sponsor a criterium-type road race, the Grand Prix of Ireland.

After adding a similar event in Cork, McQuaid then began to try to organise a full-scale five-day stage race around Ireland, working with Alan Rushton, formerly of Kellogg's and Viking Cycles.

McQuaid secured acceptance, with a favourable calendar "slot", 25–29 September, which allowed riders to use the race for preparatory purposes, from the UCI.

[14] McQuaid ran for the honorary post of President of the ICF in November 1994, losing heavily, but won a clear mandate in 1995, and was re-elected in 1997.

Due to the workload from this and the coming of the Tour de France to Ireland in 1998, for the final year of his time as President, the role was, in effect, split, with a new position of Chairman temporarily created for Dermot Dignam to look after domestic duties, while McQuaid focused on international representation.

His predecessor, also running, withdrew at the last minute, as did another candidate, and he won strongly (31-11), making him the first Irish person to head a major global sport federation (Lord Killanin had previously chaired the Olympic co-ordinating body, the IOC, 1972-1980).

[16] Unlike the Irish cycling federation honorary presidency, the world role was a paid post, with a salary in excess of 360,000 euro or 500,000 dollars.

[17] For much of his term in office, McQuaid had to deal with allegations of doping in the sport, many dating back to previous decades, and especially around a handful of elite riders such as Lance Armstrong, Floyd Landis and Alberto Contador.

As a result, he was also involved in defamation lawsuits, in Switzerland, against people who accused the UCI of corruption and insufficient action against the problem, most notably with regard to Armstrong.

It stated that some matters might have been better handled, expressing concern that Lance Armstrong had received flexible treatment on several occasions, including being allowed to return to competition for a key event, the Tour Down Under, 10 days earlier than a six-month deadline, while he was also being asked to join a race in Ireland.

He has also spoken, somewhat harshly, on British cycling and especially Team Sky, for use of non-commercial and expensive bespoke bicycles, use of therapeutic usage exemptions (TUEs) and other matters.

[29] After Ballygall, he lived in Ballinteer in the southern suburbs of Dublin, then Roundwood in County Wicklow,[30] and later in Switzerland, before settling in Correns, Provence, France[28] in 2015.

[10] In March 2008, McQuaid was made a Commander in the Ivory Coast's Order of Sporting Merit (Commandeur dans l'ordre du mérite sportif de Côte d'Ivoire).