The UCI suspended sports director Carl Roes for six months. As the sports director of the Lotto Dstny Development Team, Roes ran over a race staff member during the GP Rik van Looy (1.2) in September. He was not allowed to enter the course but attempted to do so and hit a marshal who tried to stop him. The man fell, but the team leader continued his way in the race.
The suspension will be effective from January.
The UCI investigated the incident and now states in a statement: “When team leader Carl Roes returned to the course after a detour, he ignored the instructions of a marshal, maneuvered around him, and knocked him to the ground. Roes acknowledged that he violated UCI rules and accepted the proposed sanction by the UCI, namely a six-month suspension starting from January 20, 2024.”
Apologies after the incident:
Roes was immediately suspended by his employer after the incident but resigned the next day. “I am very affected by this incident. That’s why, after forty years, I decided to step away completely from the sport that I practiced with great passion.”
“I would once again like to offer my sincere apologies to the marshal, the organization, my team Lotto-Dstny, and the cycling world,” he said at the time.
Watch the accident: