On the heels of RadioShack manager Johan Bruyneel's last minute efforts to secure an invitation to the Giro di Lombardia Classic, Belgian paper Het Laatste Nieuws is reporting that the team's entire Tour de France squad could be suspended for up to two months. The action is reportedly a result of disciplinary proceedings held by the International Cycling Union (UCI) for breaching the regulations governing riders’ clothing during the final stage of the Tour de France.
If the rumor is true, the move would see Janez Brajkovic, Chris Horner, Andreas Klöden, Levi Leipheimer, Dmitriy Muravyev, Sergio Paulinho, Yaroslav Popovych and Gregory Rast all sit out the world championships in Geelong, Australia, as well as the Giro di Lombardia. Het Laatste Nieuws is typically a highly reliable source, but there have been no other reports of these developments thus far.
During the last stage of this year's Tour, RadioShack traded in their normal jerseys to promote team captain Lance Armstrong's cancer charity. The race officials agreed to allow the team to wear the jerseys in the stage's neutral rollout, but instructed that they were not to be worn on the podium when accepting the prize for best team.
The team ignored the directive from the race commissaires and wore the black jersey's on when accepting their award, setting the UCI disciplinary proceedings into motion. The UCI's press release in July pointed out that the team's incorrect behavior led to a 20-minute delay of cycling's marquee event, which risked a disruption in the televised coverage of the race.
The Commissaires imposed a fine on each individual rider as well as the team managers, but the consequences could now apparently go much deeper. To complicate matters, Bruyneel confronted the officials after the incident with a statement the governing body described as having "gravely offended" those involved.
"Ok people! Now it's official! To be a race commisar, you don't need brains but only know the rules! Their motto: "c'est le reglement!," Bruyneel said on Twitter that day.
Bruyneel has since apologized for his comments on the matter.