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6 years ago

Tour of Hainan: Chinese cyclist Wang Xin given two-year ban

- File photo used only for representation.
- File photo used only for representation.

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A rider who violently attacked a rival team has been banned for two years from professional cycling.

Wang Xin was expelled from the Chinese island of Hainan after video footage showed him punching and kicking at two members of the Swiss national team, the BBC reported on Thursday.

He also retrieved a foot pump from a car boot before police stepped in.

Wang's Keyi Look team were barred from all events until 2019 by the Chinese Cycling Association (CCA), which described it as a "violent incident".

The CCA also handed out punishments of varying degrees to team manager Han Feng, doctor Zhang Ya and masseur Fan Yunlong. Although Han was not involved in the attack, the CCA said he had failed to control his employees.

Wang, who has been excluded from all cycling for six months, and the team apologised for the incident on social media.

Swiss Cycling team manager Danilo Hondo had denied that his car had struck Chinese rider Wang during the stage at the Tour of Hainan this month.

"We never bumped into him, you can see that from the race video," he told Eurosport after the race.

"He simply hit the back wheel of another rider and went down. He was obviously embarrassed and took out his frustration on us.

"We tried to approach him after the race, in fact we waited 45 minutes after the finish to apologise for any misunderstandings and to show him and his team that we respect them and meant no harm.

"But both he and his team approached us with anger and everything escalated from there."

 

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