2024-02-28 20:14:26
The International Cycling Union (UCI) has punished the US women’s team Cynisca Cycling and its members for cheating at last year’s race in Belgium.
The stable mechanic disguised herself as a rider before the start, so that the stable would meet the requirement for the minimum number of participants in the race.
The Cynisca Cycling team had only four healthy riders available for the Argenta Classic in July.
However, since according to the rules five female cyclists were required to participate in the start, then sports director Danny Van Haute, according to the UCI, instructed the team’s mechanic to change into a cycling outfit and report to the start with a mask over her mouth. She did not have to complete the race after that.
“Although only four female riders were able to enter the race, some members of the team participated in the fraud,” the UCI said in a statement on its website.
“They tried to trick the judges into believing that the fifth rider was present and could start,” she added.
Former cyclist and participant in the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games Van Haute was banned from cycling until the end of 2025 as the organizer of the fraud, mechanic Moira Barrett until this September.
The team was disqualified from the next race on the calendar in which it was entered and received an unspecified fine.
The four riders involved in the fraud escaped with admonitions.