"Why would you accept a medal that doesn’t belong to you?" - Sanne Cant herself told Marie Schreiber not to attend podium at cyclocross Europeans
Cycling
Marie Schreiber's relegation from the women's elite race at the cyclocross European Championships may have been the defining moment of the entire event. Virtually no-one agrees with the UCI's decision, including Lucinda Brand's own coach Sven Nys; and Sanne Cant who told Schreiber to skip the podium.
In an interview with Sporza, cyclocross legend and Marie Schreiber's coach Sanne Cant does not exclude legal action against the UCI: "That’s a possibility. Because we aren’t going to let it rest here."
The three-time World Champion has spent many years in the field as the world's best, and after her retirement has turned to guiding and coaching some of the top young riders. Marie Schreiber is one of them.
In Zeddam, the Luxembourger was on her way to victory. She beat Lucinda Brand in the final sprint, although her sprint was not fully clean. However, her slight movement led the race commissaires to take the decision to relegate her to second place.
Schreiber later did not turn up on the race podium. As it turns out, that decision was partly influenced by Cant, who had also been revolted by the decision.
Marie Schreiber and Lucinda Brand at the 2026 European Championships
Sanne Cant lashes out at UCI
As a result of her absence on the race podium, Schreiber risks having to pay a 500 Swiss Francs fine. "I’ll pay it with pleasure," Cant responded. "In fact, I’ll double the fine—as long as it means the UCI gets to see some money."
The decision has sparked great revolt in the cycling world, with Lucinda Brand herself not contesting the result of the race, and the outcome of the largely being agreed by both riders to not have been affected by the mood.
"It’s truly beyond absurd. I told her not to get on that podium. It’s not out of any disrespect toward Brand, but why would you accept a medal that doesn’t belong to you?" Cant questioned. "Marie is the winner—even Lucinda admitted as much; she didn’t even see anything happen. It was actually the UCI president who claimed to have seen something."
Lucinda Brand's manager disagrees with UCI's decision
But the statements do not only come from Schreiber's camp, but also the Dutch camp. Sven Nys, Lucinda Brand's coach at Baloise Verzekeringen - Het Poetsbureau Lions, argued that there shouldn't have been a relegation.
"It’s a real shame for Schreiber, who, in my view, truly deserved this title," Sven Nys told Wielerflits. Brand's own camp admitted that the title hadn't been hers to take, and Marie Schreiber was the legitimate winner.
"I only saw the sprint myself, and it didn't look like there was much wrong. Sure, she drifted off her line a bit—but is that enough to relegate someone to second place? I find it highly questionable, though the jury has the final say."
The extended decision ultimately benefitted Brand, but ultimately it is a highly contested one. Brand, the reigning World Champion, is also not set to debut the jersey for - the very least - a few months to come.
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"Lucinda didn't feel that she lost the race because of Schreiber, either. She never even mentioned it to me—not until the jury stepped in," Nys adds. "It hadn't even crossed her mind, but then again, that’s the rider’s own perspective, isn't it?"
"Still, acting euphoric doesn't feel appropriate given the circumstances. We’re certainly happy with the result, but at the same time, Schreiber truly deserved it as well".
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And yet, it attracts people, even you. What’s more, it attracts the rival fanboys to fill cyberspace with endless pointless my hero is better than your hero blabla that’s all been heard before and only helps sell the site as an advertising platform. You know what the solution is but most can’t resist. No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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