In a statement sent to Cyclingnews via the team, Bracke stated that he will appeal the decision, claiming that his evidence had been ‘minimized’ and his right to defend himself had not been respected.
At that time, the UCI did not indicate specifically which of its Code of Ethics had been violated but only that violations had occurred regarding the complaints of harassment.
In particular, sexual harassment in any form is forbidden and the welfare of young people under the age of 18 is paramount so as to give them protection from poor practice, abuse and bullying.
Youmans alleged inappropriate conduct by the team manager during her contract negotiations in October of 2019.
Sicot, who was officially a rider on the Doltcini-Van Eyck team, filed a formal complaint against Bracke with the UCI Ethics Commission in March of 2020.
She tested positive for EPO in a test carried out by the Agence Française de Lutte contre le Dopage at the French time trial championships on June 27, 2019.
“Marc Bracke has never been heard in this case and not one of his universal human rights, including the rights to defend himself, have in no way been respected.
“The file is in the hands of the UCI and can therefore not be handled at the same time by Belgian Cycling,” wrote Jos Smets, director at Belgian Cycling, in January.
On June 3, the UCI announced that it has adopted more preventive measures to fight against abuse in cycling to promote integrity in its regulations and processes, along with new education initiatives.
The UCI will also appoint an Integrity Manager in September, who will be in charge of establishing education and awareness courses for all cycling’s families, and managing a reporting system for harassment and abuse.
“This decision sets an important precedent when it comes to the fight against sexual harassment.
A lack of transparency with the victims has also been flagged as a major flaw in the Ethics Commission’s complaint process.
In its series of changes to its complaint process, the Ethics Commission is now obliged to inform the victims on the procedure and its reasoning on all decisions, insofar as the complainants are directly concerned by the relevant facts.
“An obligation for the Ethics Commission to inform complainants has also been approved.
UCI does not stand above the law,” the statement read.
“Marc Bracke has at all times respected the secrecy of the investigation, in contrast to Marion Sicot who was campaigning continuously and several times leaking information from the investigation.
“A court case against Marion Sicot for false allegations and her actions in social and other media to support these has been started up for French justice.
“In this case all evidence supplied by many parties, including 20 riders, in favor of Marc Bracke has been minimized while facts against Marion Sicot – such as her escape from the hotel in Pau to avoid another doping test after being alerted by UCI and AFLD and another case of fraud – are ignored completely.
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