– It is a special case. I have to say that. It’s just petty and not smart to fool yourself into this ride. It’s a bit shocking, says news’s cycling expert Sondre Sørtveit. What should have been a Monday in victory euphoria turned into a blue Monday for Cynisca Cycling. On Sunday they won the Spanish one-day race Clasica de Almería for the second year in a row. On Monday, the International Cycling Union (UCI) issued a press release that caused a stir in the cycling world. There they came with a crushing verdict related to the behavior of the team during the Belgian race Argenta Classic – 2 Districtenpijl Ekeren-Deurne last summer: Sports director Danny Van Haute has been suspended from all activity in cycling until 31 December 2025. He has also received a fine. Mechanic Moira Barrett has been suspended from all activity in cycling until 1 September 2024. The team has been fined and must sit out the next race they were supposed to participate in. Riders Anna Hicks, Cara O’Neil, Katherine Sarkisov and Claire Windsor have all received a reprimand. The reason behind it all is what has really created reactions. EXPERT: Sondre Sørtveit shakes his head at the case that came to light on Monday. – Laughing at himself In the Belgian race, Cynisca only had four available riders. In the race in question, there was a requirement that each team consisted of at least five riders. The UCI wrote that their disciplinary committee concluded that several members of the team tried to deceive the commissioners, the judges in cycling, present at the race into believing that the team had a fifth rider present. According to the disciplinary committee, the team’s sporting director, Danny Van Haute, instructed the four riders to lie about the identity of the fifth rider when questioned by the stewards. Furthermore, the riders told the chief commissioner that the fifth rider was present, but ill. The commissioners then told the team that they would not be allowed to start if the fifth rider did not come to the start. Then Van Haute is said to have instructed the team’s mechanic, Moira Barrett, to put on cycling clothes and a mask, and to sign herself in as the team’s fifth rider. – I have never heard anything like it. It was a creative twist, but it’s good that they cut back on it. They (the team) are making fun of themselves, I think, says Sørtveit. Was discovered before the start In a message to news, the UCI states that the chief commissioner, who was French Cédric Fonteneau, personally knew the rider who should have been on the starting line, French Greta Richioud. – He could therefore verify before the start that the person in question was not the registered athlete. As a result, the team was refused to start the race. The UCI defines fraud as, among other things, providing false information, or in other ways cheating or unfairly trying to acquire an advantage. – Therefore, all the mentioned members of the team have been involved in a fraud, writes the UCI in the press release. The team has apologized. They further state that the verdict can be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The reason why Van Haute received the harshest sentence is that he was seen as the central perpetrator in the case. Barrett has also been given a suspension because the disciplinary committee believes she took an active role in the attempted fraud by dressing up and trying to sign as the fifth rider to the team. The American team has not yet published anything on social media or on its own website about the incident. Media manager Barbara Giles confirms to Escape Collective that the incident took place and that they have apologised. – The team has not and will never tolerate this type of behaviour, they write. They further point out that Van Haute did not work full-time for the team, but was hired for several races. Van Haute’s action is further described as “a one-off mistake by a rogue sports director”. According to statistics website Procyclingstats, Van Haute was also with the team during several races in August, over a month after the Argenta Classic. The team wrote in the statement to Escape Collective that they took immediate action when they were informed of the incident and terminated the employment of both Van Haute and Barrett, both at the time and for the future. The Norwegian team took part: – Didn’t make it The Norwegian team Team Coop-Repsol took part in the race in Belgium last year. Tone Hatteland Lima was sports director there. – There and then during the race I didn’t get it with me. When you sign up, you don’t stand and watch what the other teams are doing, she says to news. SPORTS DIRECTOR: Tone Hatteland Lima was an active cyclist herself up to and including 2017, before she took on the role of sports director after she retired. Photo: Anders Fehn / news – Have you heard of anything similar? – No, actually not. If you discover that you have too few, you try to contact the organizer and apply for an exception in advance. It is very rare that you end up completely in such a situation, where you stand on the day of the race and notice that you have too few, says Lima. – It’s top sport too. You don’t see football teams coming to an elite match with ten players. I would say that you have made a lot of mistakes if you are not able to be with the full team on the day of the race, she says. No one had managed this in over 80 years 01:05 Here they try a unique jump 01:08 Hides the chocolate when he is filmed 00:44 Missing a medal at the WC: – I tried to steal it 00:27 Show more
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Tried to fool judges with a disguised mechanic – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
