UCI threatens to take action against Johan Bruyneel if he continues "to have any role or capacity" in Tour
Cycling
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."
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.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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