Former manager of cyclist Marion Sicot suspended for three years for harassment by the International Cycling Union

Marc Brakc, accused by several riders of having covered up or perpetrated sexual harassment, was found guilty by the International Cycling Union, and temporarily banned from exercising. A criminal investigation is still underway with the Montargis prosecutor's office.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) has suspended Belgian Marc Bracke for three years from "any function in cycling" for sexual assault. The former manager of Orleans cyclist Marion Sicot with the Doltcini-Van Eyck team. Several runners had seized the disciplinary commission of the body, including Marion Sicot in May 2020. She had also filed a complaint, revealing in particular the insistence of her trainer to receive photos of her in her underwear, with the fallacious argument to control their physical form. An investigation led by the Montargis prosecutor's office is still ongoing.

"We remain convinced that Marion Sicot's accusations against Marc Bracke have no other intention than to obtain a reduced suspension for doping, which she succeeded", attacked the Doltcini-Van team. Eyck in a press release, focusing his attacks on the Frenchwoman. Indeed, the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) recognized, in the context of the sanction imposed on Marion Sicot, that her doping had been an effect of the "unhealthy relationship" that the coach forced with the young runner. . "He knew the precariousness of the young woman's situation and could not ignore the hold he had on her," writes the AFLD, which recognizes "humiliating behavior with a sexual connotation" on the part of Mr. Bracke.

Very strange defense, therefore, to lean on this decision. Marion Sicot was not the only one to complain about the violence of the coach: the American runner Sara Youmans had brought similar facts before the UCI, in 2019. Bracke would also have covered the sexual assaults perpetrated by the team assistant on a young Canadian rider, Maggie Coles-Lyster.

Marc Bracke has announced his intention to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.