Patrick Lefevere sanctioned by the ethics commission of the International Cycling Union (UCI).
This Thursday, the UCI asked the boss of the Soudal-Quick Step team to publicly apologize, under penalty of a fine, after a report for “denigrating” remarks towards women.
The UCI did not confirm which comments made by the 69-year-old Belgian were targeted, only specifying to AFP that “the offenses mentioned relate to incidents reported in 2023”.
The UCI Ethics Commission renders decisions in four cases https://t.co/lP0EnbEQmj pic.twitter.com/ZaYb3EuSAW
— UCI_media (@UCI_media) March 14, 2024
This therefore does not concern the controversy last February when, in an interview with the Belgian magazine HUMO, Lefevere attacked Julian Alaphilippe and his partner Marion Rousse.
Reproaching his French rider for a lifestyle with "too many parties and too much alcohol", he added that Alaphilippe was "under the control of Marion" Rousse, also director of the women's Tour de France, to whom he asked to “let go of the leash”.
He risks a fine of just over 20,000 euros
“Following a report concerning Mr. Patrick Lefevere (…) for public comments considered to be denigrating towards women, the Ethics Commission confirmed that violations of articles 5 and 6.1 of the Code of Ethics of the “UCI were committed in two cases,” the body said in a statement on Thursday.
As a result, the UCI “asked Mr. Lefevere to make a public statement recognizing and apologizing for the inappropriate nature of his statements.”
In the absence of a public declaration, the Belgian will receive a fine of 20,000 Swiss francs (approximately 20,800 euros) which will also be imposed on him if he commits a “similar offense to the UCI Code of Ethics within three years to come,” added the body.