UCI suspended HRE Mazowsze Serce Polski DS for reckless driving during 2023 Tour of Denmark time trial
Cycling
The UCI has suspended Polish team manager Dariusz Banaszek until March 2025 for multiple dangerous actions during last year's Tour of Denmark. The coach of the continental HRE Mazowsze Serce Polski performed crazy antics on the time trial course in order to be able to follow one of his riders. Since this spring, Banaszek has no longer been allowed to sit behind the steering wheel during a race.
For the offence, we have to go back to the fifth stage of the 2023 Tour of Denmark. After Dariusz Banaszek, father of cyclists Norbert and Adrian and uncle of former professional Alan Banaszek, followed a rider from his team, he quickly wanted to follow another rider. When it turned out that the next rider had already left, he performed some daredevil stunts. Banaszek overtook several riders, team cars and motorbikes.
What made it extra dangerous was that the other side of the road was also used for the time trial. So there were riders and support vehicles coming in the opposite direction. The UCI disciplinary commission ruled that the 54-year-old team manager had violated several UCI rules, including endangering people in the race convoy, as well as spectators.
The punishments handed out by the UCI disciplinary committee are not mild. Since the investigation started in 2024, he was already banned from driving a support vehicle, but now he is not allowed to perform any activity within cycling until October 23, 2024. After that, he is not allowed to drive as a driver in a racing convoy for five months, until March 17, 2025. Banaszek must also take a safe driving course once his suspension ends, before he is officially allowed to get behind the wheel again.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- I see (elsewhere) that Alaphilippe had more to say than what got relayed in this stub. Me: he was very good early but his latter third trajectory was the pits. His old boss did what he could (huffed and puffed) but Julian couldn't get his greatness back. Sometimes I wonder if crashes that didn't look like much changed the course of the rider.flyer14-11-2026
- I wouldn't classify it as a gift because the nasty consequences of taking it from Sepp would have been great and would persist and he knew it.flyer14-11-2026
- Ok. Tratnik's good and Red Bull's better so Tratnik may get what he wants.flyer14-11-2026
- Ok. So just saying he wasn't enjoying racing anymore is some kind of explanation? Me saying I don't enjoy his explanation is more explaining than he did.flyer14-11-2026
- Buitrago, was he their best rider in 2026? He's the chief loss for them and Martinez and Tiberi (especially) have to step up or they will be overtaken by Bahrain's younger riders like Omrzel. I'm still somewhat high on Martinez but Tiberi, after showing signs of promise, has fizzled. Bahrain still has a good team but they need to improve and exceed expectations. I'd be happy if Mohoric could manage to return to his better form for maybe one last year at least.flyer14-11-2026
- Hmmm, "... I just gained 30 seconds purely off the bike. Because it's really a big, big improvement compared to the previous bike". Is that marketing for Specialized or serious valid hype, or something in between? Very likely the former.flyer14-11-2026
- Nothing revelatory or controversial. Why do we have to report on Bruyneel's or Armstrong's thinking. It's a shame and enough that the Move's on TV and that people watch it .flyer14-11-2026
- Makes sense that training from home is a big asset or advantage but it's still remarkable that he can put in three quality majors and not pay some heavy price for the exertion. I wish he would have won that tour stage that his crash while leading allowed Carapaz the win. He's a darn good rider and teammate.flyer14-11-2026
- Sounds like we all agree with the over under exaggeration: "The German’s signing does not guarantee that Evenepoel will win the Tour in 2027. "flyer14-11-2026
- Seixas appears to be that good but if he isn't (an absolute rival to Pogacar) he would have plenty of company in rising stars that did not go on to fully meet the expectations of many. That Pogacar wasn't the greatest (as great) sooner can't be transposed onto another's development. It may be not that simple.flyer14-11-2026
Loading
Decision of the UCI Disciplinary Commission concerning Dariusz Banaszek bit.ly/3LDNsf8
Write a comment