Johan Bruyneel was a guest last week on the cycling talk show Vive le Vélo. The former rider and team director—currently serving a lifetime ban for violating anti-doping rules—also appeared in the Tour village. This clearly struck a nerve at the UCI: the cycling union has therefore asked the Tour organizer ASO for an explanation.
The UCI even decided to issue a special press release. “The UCI 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.”
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
“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.”
UCI demands answers: “To understand how this could have happened”
This especially applies to zones of the Tour de France that require accreditation, yet Bruyneel was granted accreditation last week as he appeared at the table with Karl Vannieuwkerke. The UCI is not pleased about this. “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 accreditation process is not the responsibility of the UCI, but of the ASO. “We contacted ASO 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 stresses that it “is closely following this matter and will take all appropriate measures.”
