Tell us a little about the man. What’s your story?

I was a cyclist in the Seventies in junior and senior categories. At that time the cadet and U23 categories didn’t exist. Till 18 years of age you were junior and after that senior amateur. I’ve stopped with racing at the age of 20 and some months later it was organized by National federation a course for commissaries. To remain in cycling, that is the sport I like the most, I’ve participate at the course and I became active as a judge. It was the year 1979. Later I’ve passed all the steps till I became an international UCI commissaire in the year 2000.

In private life I was a journalist for 25 years. I was the chief editor of a daily newspaper, but at a certain point I’ve decided that was time to change profession because of too much stress, so I became a translator, mainly from Italian to Croatian and the opposite, sometimes also to English. This is the work I’m still doing.

How is the work of the commissaries organized?

Cycling is a complex event that cannot be followed by a single person. In an event with massive start there are necessary three commissaries in the car. Each one of them has his own task. The one in front covers the breakaways, the president the main bunch and the third commissaries the back. In the panel there are also two or three commissaries on motorbike which task is to follow the groups in between, to have the evidence of the composition of the groups and to, eventually, get the passages at the intermediate and king of the mountain sprints. In this they help the finish judge and the timekeeper, which main task is to establish the order of arrival, to record the times and to give the jerseys in a stage race. That’s in very short.

Rudi Segnan

Which problems have road cycling in general nowadays?

For my opinion the main problem of road cycling today is the security. There are too many motorbikes in and around the peloton with drivers that don’t understand their job. In many cases they overtake at a high speed putting in danger the cyclist, or they didn’t drive in the correct positions and this can distort the sporting result. In many cases the security of the race is superficial. When I go to a race I always speak with the organizer about these issues, with more or less success, because in the recent past we had cases of death or of serious injuries just for these reasons.

How do you prepare for a race?

I read carefully the race rules and the technical guide. If I notice that there are things to change or to correct I ask the organizer to do. From the analysis of the planimetry and altimetry you can now which kind of race you can expect. Then, of course, in the race you have always some situation that you can foresee, which requires yours immediate reaction.

Do you remember your first race?

My first race was the practical part of the exam for the first degree commissarie in March 1979. It was a junior race and I was with the breakaway, together with my mentor. The first international race as UCI commissarie was Giro delle Marche in Italy in March 2002.

Rudi Segnan (r)

What do you think of the UCI Junior Nation Cup Series?

It’s a good challenge because if you go to see the podium of the Nations’ Cup races of the past you’ll find many cyclists that later make a career as professional riders.

What do you think about that Hungary joins the Series?

I think it will be very good for the Hungarian riders because they will compete with the best cyclists of their age and they will know at what international level they are, as well as the Hungarian team managers. It can be a stimulus for a general improvement of Hungarian cycling.

How much do you know about Hungarian cyclingsport?

Well, in many races I had Hungarian riders or teams. I saw now that two of them – Attila Valter and Barnabas Peak – are in WorldTour Teams. I’ve noticed them booth in some races in the past and I was thinking that they can have success in the future. For Hungarian cycling will surely be important the great departure of the Giro d’Italia from Budapest, that will be a big promotion for the sport and for the country. It’s also important that the V4 races are now established in international calendar and I hope also that V4 World Cup for juniors will became a traditional cycling event.

What do you think about Hungary?

There are historical ties between Hungary and my native town Fiume (actual Rijeka). In Budapest still exist Fiumei út. Traces of the past are still present in my city.Every time I went in Hungary I found myself well. Persons are friendly and this is important.