The Astana sports director who almost hit a volunteer marshal at the Tour de Yorkshire earlier this month has been suspended by the UCI.
The marshal, Philip Sullivan, was standing on a traffic island waving a pennant to warn riders and vehicles in the race convoy of the presence of the hazard, and had to jump out of the way as the team car driven by Lars Michaelsen ploughed through it.
Footage of the dramatic episode was shared by a spectator on social media.
> Astana apologise to marshal almost run over by team car driver
Michaelsen, a former pro who won Gent-Wevelgem in 1995 and a stage of the Vuelta two years later, has been banned by the UCI for 50 days and fined 5,000 Swiss Francs, equivalent to £3,700.
In a statement, the UCI said that the 46-year-old “will also collaborate with the UCI in delivering driver safety initiatives and share his experience as a driver in the race convoy.”
It added that the Dane had “accepted his responsibility for the incident.”
In conclusion, the UCI said that it “emphasises the importance of continuously working on measures aimed at improving road safety as well as acting on any such incidents from a disciplinary point of view in a fair and efficient manner.”
Following the incident in early May, Astana apologised and said that Michaelsen planned to volunteer at next year’s event where he would meet the marshal “for a beer.”
5 thoughts on “UCI suspends Astana sports director who almost hit Tour de Yorkshire marshal”
Strange how fast they managed
Strange how fast they managed to ‘gather data’ on this incident and make a decision.
I wonder whether a team
I wonder whether a team sports director should even be driving during a race?
Why not simply change the
Why not simply change the rules as to whom is allowed to drive and what they can do whilst driving, y’know like just driving the course and looking out for where the road turns, stuff/people in the road and where their riders are. Being on the walkie talkie/CB type device (why not a wired headset ffs?) looking out the side window and having a chat with your riders or handing over gels and shizzle is not on the agenda, that’s distracted driving and leads to crashes and people getting hurt.
C’mon UCI do the right thing and take action ffs!
I was so sure whoever was
I was so sure whoever was driving would be sacked. Always the same when it comes to people in higher positions getting off lightly.
The man he nearly killed deserves more than a beer!
Should have been wearing high
Should have been wearing high vis! 🙂