UCI threatens to take action against Johan Bruyneel if he continues "to have any role or capacity" in Tour
CyclingWednesday, 23 July 2025 at 10:10
Lifetime ban is a lifetime ban. Not many people were handed one in the history of cycling, but one of those who did - Johan Bruyneel - has slowly regained his prominence in the sport through related activities such as co-work on Lance Armstrong's The Move podcast.
Thanks to the newly-build connections, Bruyneel made it onto the 2025 Tour de France - something he's not prohibited from doing - in cooperation with Belgian TV. However when UCI spotted Bruyneel in sections with limited access, their patience run out.
The UCI issued a following statement, expressing disconcern with Bruyneel's presence and threatening further action were he to continue to act beyond his level of clearance:
"The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) noted the presence of Mr Johan Bruyneel in the Tour de France start village on 17 July 2025 in connection with his participation in Vive le vélo, a programme broadcast by the Flemish-language Belgian public television channel VRT1.
"On 25 October 2018, Mr Bruyneel was sanctioned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) with a life ban for anti-doping rules violations when he worked with the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team and the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team.
"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.
"The UCI would like to add that the accreditation process for the Tour de France is not its responsibility, but rather is that of Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the race organiser. 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 UCI stresses that it is closely following this matter and will take all appropriate measures."
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- Personally, I speak to the other end of the leash before approaching. As for barriers, by my logic the exact reason they are there is to STOP normal public approach so please clarify your logic.Mistermaumau28-01-2026
- Don’t get itJumpyjohn28-01-2026
- The guy is working and the amateur should know that, maybe remember that next time someone at work gets a bit too close :-) Was it a technical descent coz I can keep up with just about any pro on a safe downhill thanks to some extra kg, besides from Strava data, it’s obvious pros are rarely pushing their max in training at this stage.Jumpyjohn28-01-2026
- Yates retired because Visma would not let him do the Giro because of Jonas Vingagaard. Plain and simple that's what happens when you become a rigid team like Visma.YJKauf1328-01-2026
- Ah, sorry. Ok, rewind. The first guy annoys JV who decides to “try to get rid of him” (which I doubt he’d do if he’d been asked coz then he would have had the chance to say no and that should have been it). The video (am not going to watch it unless someone tells me there are other important details not mentioned in the story) seems to show distance but this in no way describes the previous episode (at least it seems the guy didn’t pop out his phone while on JVs wheel, which isn’t unknown). I guess we can also safely assume if the distance had been 100-150 all the time, JV would never have noticed or been bothered. Now, though it’s not very clear, it sounds like both riders stopped, the annoyer carrying on before the 2nd guy came? But (and put yourself in the situation of someone who just crashed hard in the middle of nowhere), maybe JV imagines the 2nd rider might be associated with the 1st? It’s not like he would have paid much attention to the number and possible relationship between riders around him in what seems like quite a short period. Interesting though that both amateurs’ versions were so quick to make the rounds to media.Mistermaumau28-01-2026
- Also, this is a pro’s job, training on roads (especially those they will be racing on). Other multimillionaires also drive their cars on the public roads Joe uses and expect not to have hoards of fans driving in convoy behind. Only multibillionaires can almost escape that with private aircraft, not exactly what society should be aiming to emulate. Maybe they should ask for payrises to build their own racing tracks?Mistermaumau28-01-2026
- By your rationale, people should also not be allowed to get close to the animal pen railings at zoos, or to approach a dog on a leash.itsent28-01-2026
- Oh, I did not forget. My experience has been that riders who are strong enough to stay on my wheel (or the wheel of any skilled rider who reads this site, I imagine) during high-speed descents are knowledgeable and respectful of road etiquette. Aside from this, giving privilege to pro riders opens the door wider to elitism, and no one needs that.itsent28-01-2026
- When they close them, which is not always the case. Often the public “participates” with the hope no-one will change. behaviour due to the situation or presence of the star(s). In any case, it is but one of several situations to consider when weighing how to behave towards others in general.Mistermaumau28-01-2026
- Sure, one can imagine the scenario with cars being a totally different scenario, since this article concerns bicyclists. Your film crew reference is appreciated, however it is noteworthy that film crews pay for road closure permits.itsent28-01-2026
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