Lance Armstrong’s former boss, Johan Bruyneel, has accused UCI president David Lappartient of “hypocrisy” after cycling’s governing body released a statement about Bruyneel’s unauthorised presence at the Tour de France.
The Belgian has a lifetime ban for “anti-doping rules violations” from when he worked with Armstrong’s US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team and the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team.
He is “strictly prohibited” from accessing areas of the Tour de France that require accreditation.
But Bruyneel appeared at the Tour de France’s start village on 17 July in connection with his participation with Vive le vélo, a programme broadcast by the Flemish-language Belgian public television channel VRT1.
Last night, the UCI released a statement on Bruyneel’s presence at the race: “In accordance with Article 10.14 of the World Anti-Doping Code and the UCI Anti-Doping Rules, Mr Bruyneel is banned for life from taking part in any activity related to cycling.
“While he is free to attend a cycling event registered on the UCI International Calendar – such as the Tour de France – as a regular spectator, he is strictly prohibited from participating in the event in any role or capacity, or from accessing areas that are closed to the public. This includes, in particular, areas of the Tour de France that require accreditation.
“As a person serving a lifetime ban, Mr Bruyneel was therefore not authorised to be present in the Tour de France start village or team area.”
Cycling’s governing body added that accreditation for the Tour de France is the responsibility of race organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO).
“The UCI confirms that it has contacted ASO to clarify whether Mr Bruyneel was granted an official accreditation, to understand how this could have happened, and to ensure that no further accreditation will be issued to him,” the statement reads.
The UCI added that it is “closely following this matter” and that it would take appropriate measures.
Following the UCI’s statement, Bruyneel tweeted saying: “It seems that the president of the UCI, David “The Selfie King” Lappartient, didn’t like the fact that I visited the Tour de France last week. I’ve said already many times, also to him personally, that I find his attitude being one of hypocrisy. After receiving this press statement, I have contacted him personally again, but he hasn’t responded (yet).”
Bruyneel added that it was “pleasant” to be at the Tour and that he was waiting for a Lappartient to reply to his WhatsApp messages.
