Lance Armstrong’s former boss Johan Bruyneel has accused UCI president David Lappartient of “hypocrisy” and reignited a long-running personal feud after cycling’s governing body issued a statement saying it was “closely following” his unauthorised presence in a restricted area at the start of stage 12 of the Tour de France.
Despite the Belgian serving a lifetime ban for “anti-doping rules violations” and being “strictly prohibited” from accessing spaces that require official accreditation, he appeared in the Tour’s Départ village as a guest of a Flemish television programme.
In a statement issued on Tuesday night, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) said it had “noted the presence of Mr Johan Bruyneel in the Tour de France start village on 17 July 2025 in connection with his participation in Vive le vélo, a programme broadcast by the Flemish-language Belgian public television channel VRT1”.
“On 25 October 2018, Mr Bruyneel was sanctioned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) with a life ban for anti-doping rules violations when he worked with the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team and the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team,” the statement continued.
“In accordance with Article 10.14 of the World Anti-Doping Code and the UCI Anti-Doping Rules, Mr Bruyneel is banned for life from taking part in any activity related to cycling.
“While he is free to attend a cycling event registered on the UCI International Calendar — such as the Tour de France — as a regular spectator, he is strictly prohibited from participating in the event in any role or capacity, or from accessing areas that are closed to the public. This includes, in particular, areas of the Tour de France that require accreditation.”
The UCI said that Bruyneel’s presence in the Départ village and team areas during stage 12 — which began in Auch and finished atop Hautacam — violated those terms.
“As a person serving a lifetime ban, Mr Bruyneel was therefore not authorised to be present in the Tour de France start village or team area,” the organisation said.
It also clarified that responsibility for Tour de France accreditations lies not with the UCI but with race organiser Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), which has been contacted “to clarify whether Mr Bruyneel was granted an official accreditation, to understand how this could have happened, and to ensure that no further accreditation will be issued to him”.
The UCI added: “The UCI stresses that it is closely following this matter and will take all appropriate measures.”
Bruyneel, who was the long-time directeur sportif during Lance Armstrong’s reign at the Tour de France and was handed a lifetime suspension in 2018 for his central role in what USADA called “the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen,” had attended the start of Thursday’s stage as a guest of VRT1’s Tour coverage.
He posted photos from the day on Instagram, including one in which he was pointing at Lance Armstrong’s name on an official Tour de France display listing past winners, writing: “Swung by the Tour de France last Thursday in the Pyrenees for the Hautacam stage. Hung out at the Village Départ, wandered past the team buses, and said hi to half the peloton (or at least it felt like it). Great to catch up with old friends, familiar faces, and plenty of stories. Still the same amazing energy.”
The controversial Belgian also responded to the UCI’s press release by accusing Lappartient of hypocrisy and reviving a nickname he has used before to criticise the governing body’s president.
“It seems that the president of the UCI, David ‘the Selfie King’ Lappartient, didn’t like the fact that I visited the Tour de France last week,” Bruyneel wrote later on Twitter/X. “I’ve said already many times, also to him personally, that I find his attitude being one of hypocrisy. After receiving this press statement, I have contacted him personally again, but he hasn’t responded (yet).”
“I hereby want to reiterate how pleasant it felt to have been present at the Tour and really appreciated the many warm welcome gestures from the many people I have met at this occasion. I’m waiting for your reply to my messages on my WhatsApp, @DLappartient.”
Bruyneel’s latest remarks continue a long-running feud with Lappartient, and follow a series of social media tirades from January last year, in which he accused the UCI president of careerism, vanity, and political opportunism.
“David the Selfie King! He is everywhere, this sacred omnipresent David!” Bruyneel posted at the time. “The most important thing for him is to be seen alongside important and influential figures… All with one specific objective: the presidency of the IOC. What many know but no one ever says: he doesn’t really care about cycling.”
“The most omnipresent president of cycling but in the end, what has this gentleman already accomplished? NOTHING! His personal political career above all, his presidency at the UCI is only a simple step in his political escalation towards the highest level of the IOC.”
His combative presence on social media has extended to other controversies as well. In December, when Tom Boonen revisited his time at US Postal and described the team’s doping culture as an inescapable “system”, Bruyneel posted simply: “Boonen should shut up!”
The ASO has not issued a public response to the UCI’s inquiry about Bruyneel’s accreditation, but the dispute comes at a time when the Tour de France organisers have recently come under scrutiny.
Earlier this month, the stats platform Pro Cycling Stats (PCS) revealed that it had been threatened with legal action by ASO over its unofficial roadside campervan — a popular and beloved fixture of the Tour in recent years — which the organisers accused of “riding on the coat tails of certain ASO events for which it holds no media accreditation”.
In a statement, PCS said: “The Tour organisers (ASO) more or less forced us to hide our PCS branding during every stage, from the publicity caravan to the broom wagon. It wasn’t our choice, but we had no option but to comply to avoid legal trouble.”
The site’s founder, Stephan van der Zwan, also shared the minutes of a video call with ASO: “I opened the meeting and had five people against me instead of one, including their highest lawyer. They only wanted to tell me ‘We don’t want you here anymore’.”
Although a compromise was eventually reached — with PCS agreeing to cover up its branding during the race — the site responded in typical fashion, replacing its logo with cheeky pictograms of a person peeing, the sea, and a cartoonish backside: a visual pun that still spelled ‘P-C-S’.
7 thoughts on “Lance Armstrong’s old boss accuses UCI of “hypocrisy” after governing body hits out at Tour de France for granting access to controversial Belgian — despite lifetime doping ban”
Doper/Doping Mastermind is
Doper/Doping Mastermind is going to break the rules. Who knew?
Why does Lance appear on that
Why does Lance appear on that winners board? I hope that just out of shot there’s a massive caveat, but seems odd he’s there at all when he’s been struck off the results on Le Tour’s website.
dude, that was my first
dude, that was my first thought too.
not great on my history for this, did the second places not get promoted to winner? PCS just has lanced struck through – they could have at least done that or just put CHEAT by the side of it
On the Le Tour website they
On the Le Tour website they list second place, but nobody in first. I know that is problematic too, given the history of many other riders in the peleton, but to see his name on a Le Tour branded board jars.
quiff wrote:
They should just remove the records of the whole race – as if it didn’t happen……
Who?
Who?
Can Road CC stop cutting and
Can Road CC stop cutting and pasting mildly realted stories previously covered on the bottom of articles, put a link if you must. It is extremely tedious and annoying.