European Cyclocross Championships Hit by Controversy, Hints of Legal Action

Young Luxembourg rider Marie Schreiber went from elation to despair Saturday, having the biggest victory of her career docked from her after a tight sprint.

Schreiber was arguably the strongest rider in the European championships in Zeddam, the Netherlands, starting quickly and pulling ahead on the opening lap thanks in part to her explosiveness up the course’s 99 step staircase.

She was eventually caught by Ceylin Alvarado and then Lucinda Brand, going up against the latter in a two up sprint at the end.

Schreiber led it out but then moved abruptly to the left when the world champion tried to pass between her and the barrier.

She reached the line first but learned afterwards that the jury had deemed her sprint irregular and instead named Brand as the winner.

It was, she argued, an unjust decision.

“The UCI and the UEC and everyone, they always advocate for a clean and fair sport and then they do this. It is also not fair,” an emotional Schreiber said in a post-race media interview.

“We reviewed the footage and both me and Lucinda said our views. Lucinda said I did nothing wrong, she couldn’t have passed anyway. I’m really thankful she said this but it doesn’t change the commissaires’ decision.”

Brand said that she and Schreiber had the same speed at the end.

“Marie could keep up with the acceleration I made. She could handle the speed. So I had the idea that I was being beaten on value.

“Of course she comes a bit towards me. I think we also touched each other at that moment, but things happen so fast that I don’t even consciously remember whether we actually touched or not.

“And yeah, indeed, I didn’t file any objections myself. So the jury decided to review it multiple times.”

Yet while Brand said she did not lodge an official complaint, she did seem to indicate that she had mentioned it to the jury informally.

“It’s then up to them whether or not they take that into account.”

‘I did not close the door on purpose’

Schreiber is known for her fast starts and, true to form, was to the fore from the off. The staircase helped her build a 13 second lead on the opening lap, with first Ceylin Alvarado and then Brand chasing her down. The latter slid out on a bend and crashed, leaving Alvarado to chase alone and to eventually rejoin.

Brand did manage to get back up to them and put Alvarado under pressure on the final lap, with the latter sliding out on a corner and hurting her hand. That left two out front, with Schreiber leading out the sprint, moving slightly to her left as Brand tried to pass, and then reaching the line in front.

She acknowledged moving to the side but insisted there was nothing deliberate about it.

“It is a sprint after 50 minutes of all-out racing. You come with 190 heartrate. I changed my gear, I saw I moved a little bit to the left, but then I think if every person watches a race, you know this moving around is normal.

“I did not close the door on purpose or anything. Lucinda knows it, she also said it. It is disrespectful to steal the biggest moment of my career just by this. I think for being fair, everyone knows I won.”

“If it would have been decided by two centimeters I can argue with them, I can understand, but like this it is disrespectful, to be honest.”

She still stood to gain a silver medal but didn’t turn up for the podium ceremony. She was initially going to to go, concerned at the possible reaction if she did not.

“I thought everyone was going to hate me if I don’t go,” she explained. “But then if they are being like this to me I also don’t owe them anything, to be honest.

“|It is hard to be standing here right now [speaking to the press], so you can imagine it is harder to stand on the podium.”

Rival coaches have same opinion

Schreiber is coached by former pro Sanne Cant, who was scathing in her assessment of the decision.

She confirmed to the media that she told Schreiber not to go to the podium.

“I told her not to stand up,” Cant told Sporza. “That’s not because there’s no respect for Lucinda, but because you shouldn’t take a medal that doesn’t belong to you.

“Marie was the winner of the competition. Lucinda admitted to her. This is too absurd for words.”

She described the decision as ‘the most ridiculous reaction I’ve heard,” and suggested that there are similar sprints in road racing where nothing happens.

It remains to be seen how the UCI reacts to Schreiber’s absence from the ceremony. She could potentially face a fine for that but Cant wasn’t bothered, saying she would pay double if necessary.

Asked about a possible suspension, she seemed to hint at possible legal action.

“That could happen, but we won’t let it end here.”

Brand’s team manager is former cross star Sven Nys. He wants to see his rider win, of course, but even he seemed to question the jury’s decision.

“Sometimes the world of elite sports can be harsh; they both deserved it, but one of them went home disappointed. That leaves me with mixed feelings,” he said, according to IDL Pro Cycling.

“Lucinda came up to me right after the finish and said, ‘Yeah, she deserved to win; she was faster in the sprint.’ You just have to accept that, but anyway, it’s the jury itself that decides that a title is apparently enough to relegate her to second place.”

Nys said that the team would take things very calmly and not get carried away.

“It’s the jury’s decision. We have a European champion, but I also think it’s a real shame for Marie Schreiber, who ultimately goes home as the loser. That shouldn’t have happened.”

He did note that he had only seen the sprint on a small screen, while the UCI jury could rewatch the footage 37 times if it so wished.

But there doesn’t seem to be any sense of condemnation of Schreiber for how she rode.

Indeed his tone suggested he thought the relegation was over the top.

“We had basically resigned ourselves to second place, and okay, she strayed a little bit from her line. But is that enough to ultimately relegate someone to second place in a championship?”