U.S. Cycling Team Suspended After Bizarre Rule Violation

Cycling’s governing body has handed down its punishment for a U.S. cycling team after violating the rules at an event last year. In a statement released Feb. 27, the International Cycling Union (UCI) said that Cynisca Cycling fraudulently passed off a team mechanic as one of their own riders at last year’s Argenta Classic in Belgium. Now, the cyclists are facing the consequences. 

Five riders are required to participate in Argenta, and according to the UCI, Cynisca tried to “deceive the Commissaires’ Panel into believing that a fifth rider was present and could take part in the event.” The organization said that the team members lied about where the fifth rider was, but it didn’t get them into the race. Then the team’s sporting director Danny Van Haute reportedly told a mechanic for the team to dress up as a cyclist and wear a face mask before signing the list to start the race. 

“Upon being informed by the Commissaires that the team could not participate if all five riders did not sign the start sheet and take the start, Mr Van Haute instructed the team mechanic, Moira Barrett, to wear a rider’s clothes and a face mask, to present herself at the start and sign the start sheet as the team’s fifth rider,” the UCI said in their statement. As a result, everyone involved “were therefore all found to have participated in a fraud,” the UCI said.

Because “Van Haute was found to be the main perpetrator,” the longtime official has been banned from the sport through the end of 2025. The mechanic, meanwhile, has been banned through August 2024. The cyclists—Anna Hicks, Cara O’Neil, Katherine Sarkisov, and Claire Windsor—received official reprimands for their participation the scheme. Cynisca itself was also fined and suspended from its next international race. 

The option for the racers to appeal their decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport remains on the table.