The Norwegian Cycling Federation has claimed that one of their riders was deliberately hit by a car being driven by a policeman at the recent UCI Road World Championships in Qatar.
Hans Falk, Director of Sports of the Norwegian Cycling Federation said that 18 year-old Susanne Andersen may have been hit due to the way she was dressed.
“We were informed that it is not so unusual for women with bare legs which is considered to be dressing in a challenging manner to be run down,” Falk told Norwegian TV channel TV2.
Falk also says that they were discouraged from reporting the incident to authorities as they were told that it might cause problems for Andersen leaving the country.
“We were encouraged not to report the case and told that we would not get out of the country. We thought it was best that Susanne came home,” says Falk. “I am convinced that it was a deliberate act of the policeman who drove straight at Susanne.”
When pressed as to whether it could really have been a deliberate act, Falk responded: “I can not say it for sure. But there were no skid marks, he was without empathy. Instead he fired up a cigarette and was talking on the phone without caring about the girl lying on the ground screaming.”
Falk also says that he asked the UCI to warn other nations and to be careful in traffic. However, he says he was told by the UCI that they were guests in the country and needed to respect traffic rules.
TV2 reported the UCI as saying: “The situation was handled at the time, and reported to the public authorities via the local organizing committee.”
18-year-old Andersen returned from Doha with a bronze medal from the Junior Road Race.
Wtf!!
I was going to say WTF!
Fucking retard…
What do you expect from a country with medieval laws.
About time sporting federations stayed away from these idiotic countries but as always money takes precedence over safety.
No need to have events in these countries!! Maybe down the road when they accept the world has changed. Riders should not be put in danger from assholes like that.
UCI obviously cares more about the money than welfare of female cyclists in countries with little regard to women. The teams need to boycott countries like them and the UCI need to protect the rights to all cyclists who they are meant to be representing.
Wayne, your response echoes my thoughts verbatim. The UCI deserves a swift kick in the arse for subjecting participants to an environment that is dangerous, inhospitable, repressive, and negative. This bell can not be unrung … the political-types at the UCI made a colossal blunder and should resign. “Brotherhood (*) of man” bullshit superceded athlete safety, and the gamble did not turn out. Resignations need to happen.