The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has banned a cyclist from the sport for a year for the sexual harassment of another rider.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The governing body\u2019s independent ethics commission found that downhill and enduro mountain bike rider Edgar Carballo Gonzalez, 36, had been found guilty of \u201csexual and non-consensual actions\u201d that \u201cviolated her dignity\u201d and constituted sexual harassment. The decision was published in a press release on Monday<\/a>.<\/p>\n The incident took place at a 2023 mountain biking World Cup event in Leogang and was reported through the confidential platform UCI SpeakUp.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Carballo Gonzalez\u2019s actions were described in the release as non-consensually \u201cmaking sexual advances, with inappropriate physical contact and the use of the word \u2018rape\u2019\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n The survivor was not identified by the UCI but later on Monday, Ares Masip posted on Instagram addressing the sanction, saying: \u201cAfter 9 months of breaking the silence about the sexual abuse I suffered during a MTB World Cup, the UCI has taken action and the sanction is public.\u201d The 30-year-old Spaniard had previously posted in December 2024<\/a> about being sexually abused at that event in Leogang, making her experience public as \u201cthese cases are way too frequent\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThis happened in the paddock of the World Cup \u2013 the biggest platform and the top competition in our sport,\u201d she said in a separate interview with Esport3<\/a> last December.<\/p>\n \u201cOur sport is a niche environment. The physical spaces where we stay tend to be small too, and it is very difficult to not see anyone. You coincide with everyone at some point.<\/p>\n \u201cI have limited and reduced significantly the number of races I go to. I have done it for multiple reasons, but one of them is to not bump into him again.\u201d<\/p>\n Carballo Gonzalez was found to have violated Article 6.4 (protection of physical and mental integrity) and Article 2.3 (sexual harassment) of the cycling code of ethics.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt has been a tough process, one filled with fears and doubts,\u201d Masip said on Monday. \u201cBut this is a small victory that gives me strength to keep going, a small step that I hope will help create a safer and more dignified space.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis doesn\u2019t end here. The legal process is slow but continues to move forward. There is still much to be done, but now I have broken the silence, I will not take a single step back.\u201d<\/p>\n Masip has spoken publicly about her experience on the Spanish psychotherapy platform Somos Estupendas. She most recently came fifth overall in mountain-biking event Megavalanche in June-July, having not raced for most of this season.<\/p>\n (Photo: Fabrice Coffrini\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n