Team mechanic told to dress up as rider and race Belgian event - UCI takes disciplinary action against Cynisca Cycling Team after wild fraud case

More and more fraud cases are uncovered within the peloton, and some are quite shocking and amusing for fans. That was the case with the Cynisca Cycling Team, which faces disciplinary action after it instructed a team mechanic to replace a rider... in secret.

The unusual case happened at the Argenta Classic – 2 Districtenpijl Ekeren-Deurne. It was mandatory for all teams to have at least five riders at the start to be able to participate in the race, and one of the members of the Cynisca Cycling Team had fallen ill shortly before the race and was unable to take to the start. After knowing about this last minute, a staggering decision was made by team DS Danny van Haute.

The women's team presented itself at the start with five riders, one of them however wearing a face mask. This was Moira Barrett, team mechanic who was told by the team's DS to put on the team's equipment and take to the start, pretending to be the fifth rider that had fallen ill. Barrett also went on to sign the start sheet. All of this was done in secret within the team, but was later uncovered. The UCI has taken action against members of the team that were present due to the absurdity of the act and the clear breaking of rules.

Van Haute was considered to be the main perpetrator of this incident and has been sanctioned with an almost two-year long suspension from the sport until the end of 2025; Barrett was suspended from actions in the sport until the 1st of September 2024 and the team's four remaining riders that were present were reprimanded, but not sanctioned or fined further.