Dries De Bondt faces possible UCI sanction for alleged collusion with EF Education-EasyPost at Giro d'Italia

Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale rider Dries De Bondt and EF Education-EasyPost directeur sportif Ken Vanmarcke could face sanctions for their actions on stage 20 of the Giro d’Italia after the UCI referred the matter to its Ethics Committee.

De Bondt was part of the early break on the stage before he was caught by the GC riders on the Colle delle Finestre. He paced Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) and maglia rosa Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) for a spell on the climb as they pursed eventual Giro winner Simon Yates (Visma | Lease a Bike).

In an interview after the Giro, De Bondt suggested to Wielerflits that he had offered help to Carapaz in the hope of securing a contract with EF Education-EasyPost in 2026.

“I still haven't received any clarity from my team about whether I'll be allowed to stay in 2026, so I thought it would be a good idea to market myself a bit during the Giro,” De Bondt said. “That's why I've let several teams know that I'm open to a conversation, to talk about a contract. I had done the same with Ken Vanmarcke: ‘If you're still looking for riders for 2026: I'm on the market,’ I said.”

De Bondt continued to say that Vanmarcke had approached him before the start of stage 20 to discuss his plans for the day.

“Before the team presentation of stage 20, Vanmarcke came back to me. He said: ‘Are you planning anything today? It's going to be very difficult for us to send riders into the early breakaway. But look, if you're in there and you can play a role somewhere that's important in the final result of the Giro, then something serious can come from that.’ That inspired me to do what I did for Carapaz.”

That confession attracted the attention of the UCI, who launched an investigation. In a statement on Friday, the governing body said it had assessed De Bondt’s comments and “deemed that they were clearly of a nature to call into question the integrity of the competition.”

The governing body said that it had referred the matter to its Ethics Committee and both De Bondt and Vanmarcke could face sanctions if found guilty.

“According to his comments, reported by several media, Dries De Bondt deliberately helped a rider from the EF Education-Easy Post team following a suggestion from one of that team's Sport Directors that this could help the rider secure a contract offer for next season,” the UCI said.

“On this basis, the UCI has decided to refer the matter to its Ethics Commission for a ruling on the facts and to consider possible sanctions against the rider and/or the Sport Director if their behaviour is found to be in breach of the UCI Code of Ethics, in particular Articles 8.1 and 2 of Annex 2. No further comment will be made until the conclusion of the proceedings.”

Article 8.1 of the Code of Ethics covers “manipulation of cycling events” and states that “any undertakings that are aimed at or may potentially modify or influence the course or result of a competition, or any part thereof, in any manner contrary to sporting ethics, such as manipulation or corruption, is forbidden.”