Frenchman David Lappartient, the head of the European Cycling Union (UEC), is the only confirmed challenger to incumbent Brian Cookson so far.

Lappartient officially announced his candidacy and published his manifesto on Tuesday (June 19), while Cookson announced his intention to stand for re-election earlier this month.

The Frenchman had been widely expected to enter the running for the UCI Presidency after his decision not to seek a third term as the French Cycling Federation (FFC) President in October.

He has prioritised strengthening the authority of the UCI with "real and effective leadership", which would place the organisation at the service of National Federations, "making cycling a sport for the 21st century".

Developing an ambitious vision for professional cycling and ensuring credibility of sporting results and protecting athletes are also part of the "five pillars" in his manifesto.

Cookson has prioritised accelerating international development, championing cycling for transport and leisure, ensuring equal opportunity for men and women to participate and compete, building on restored credibility and ensuring the UCI continues to drive excellence in operations.

The 66-year-old's decision to attempt to secure a second term at the helm comes amid questions over his leadership of British Cycling.

A review into the culture of British Cycling’s world-class performance programme (WCPP), published earlier this month, concluded that some athletes had complained of a "lack of encouragement or support", while staff members referred to a "culture of fear in the organisation".

The review assessed the period between 2012 and 2016.

Cookson was in charge until 2013.

Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee chairman Damian Collins claimed Cookson should not be supported by UK Sport in his re-election effort.

Cookson recently met with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach to discuss the cycling programme at Tokyo 2020.

Earlier this month, the IOC Executive Board confirmed two track madison and two BMX freestyle park events had been added to the Games in the Japanese capital.

The Briton said he was "thrilled" at the move.

The UCI head has previously expressed concern, however, about the decision to hold track cycling and mountain bike events in Izu, located over 140 kilometres from Tokyo.

Cookson and Bach also discussed "the leading role of the UCI to make the fight against doping independent from sports organisations".

The two officials spoke about the creation of a joint working group with regard to the building up of the Independent Testing Authority after plans to create a new body were given the green light by the World Anti-Doping Agency last month.

Cookson, who was first elected President of the UCI in 2013 after 16 years at the helm of British Cycling, has already come under fire for confirming he would stand for re-election.

Disgraced American Lance Armstrong and former manager Johan Bruyneel are among those to have criticised the Briton.

Armstrong, who was stripped of all seven of his Tour de France titles for doping, and Bruyneel took to Twitter to lambast the British incumbent.

The 45-year-old Texan responded with "ABC: Anyone But Cookson" in response to a Tweet from Lappartient announcing his candidacy for the role.

Bruyneel, director of the US Postal Service team during Armstrong's now infamous period of prolonged doping, also criticised Cookson for commissioning a Cycling Independent Reform Commission (CIRC) report into the sport's troubled past.

The 227-page report, published in March 2015, was critical of the previous UCI leadership and outlined what it considered to be key challenges facing anti-doping efforts in cycling.

This included the abuse of Therapeutic Use Exemptions, the use of new designer drugs and the micro-dosing of banned substances to avoid detection by anti-doping authorities.

"Brian, I spared myself the time of reading your manifesto," Bruyneel replied to Cookson's Tweet outlining his plans for the governing body should he be re-elected.

"You wrote a beautiful one 4 years ago, promised heaven and you did nothing…

"You did nothing other than spend 3mm € (sic) on a report which did nothing else than blaming the past 4 ur (sic) own benefit. 

"Oh, and many selfies."

The UCI Presidential election is due to take place during the UCI Congress in Bergen in Norway on September 22.