The International Cycling Union has decided to refer to its Ethics Commission the case involving Dries De Bondt of the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale team, for having deliberately assisted Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) during the 20th stage of the Giro d'Italia 2025.

The UCI's preliminary investigation was triggered by statements made by the Belgian rider at the end of the stage, when he admitted to having pulled at the front of the group to help Carapaz with the aim of making himself known on the transfer market.

De Bondt explained to WielerFlits : 'I haven't received any clarity from my team about my future for 2026. It seemed like a good idea to promote myself during the Giro.' The Belgian revealed that he told Ken Vanmarcke, sports director of EF Education-EasyPost: 'If you're looking for riders for 2026, I'm on the market.'

According to the UCI, this behavior 'clearly calls into question the integrity of the competition'. For this reason, the case has been referred to the Ethics Commission, which will have to assess the facts and possible sanctions for both the rider and the sports director, if a violation of the UCI Code of Ethics is found, in particular Articles 8.1 and 2 of Appendix 2 relating to 'Manipulation of cycling events'.

The UCI said it would not make any further comments until the proceedings are concluded.

Sprint Cycling Photo