Cycling’s governing body the UCI announced a five-year ban on Friday for the Proximus-Cyclis women’s cycling team assistant sports director Gert Vervoort.
The UCI ethics commission ruled Vervoort breached the body’s code of ethics relating to “inappropriate behaviour with riders involving unnecessary physical contact of a sexual nature and taking advantage of his position of authority over them”.
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Belgian Vervoort has resigned from his position, the UCI said. The ban, backdated to begin when Vervoort was first suspended in July 2024, will take effect should he seek to take a role that would make him subject to the body’s code of ethics.
The team’s manager Eddy van Bunder was given a three-year ban – half of which is suspended – after the ethics commission ruled he “failed to take adequate measures in response to complaints about Mr Vervoort’s inappropriate conduct and for failing to report these concerns to the commission in spite of his role of responsibility which implies a duty to ensure the protection of all members of the team”.
The decisions remain subject to appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
