Sleuthing, undercover pictures and an incriminating banana: Chief of ultra-cycling race disqualified over outdoors assist

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A rider was disqualified from the Trans Balkan Race, an ultra-cycling occasion, this week after receiving “unauthorised external assistance,” race organisers mentioned.

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Designed to be completely unsupported, the 1,397 kilometre off-road mountain bike race strikes by means of isolated mountain ranges and alongside rugged terrain from Slovenia to Montenegro. With solely 24 resupply stops throughout the route, a part of the race’s problem is to stay self-sufficient.

Until yesterday, Polish rider Radosław Gołębiewski was main, having crossed into Montenegro a tantalising 78.97 kilometres to the end. However, that’s the place his race ended.

“The rider was disqualified for receiving unauthorized external assistance, which directly violates Rule #2 regarding total self-sufficiency,” the race organisers said in a statement on Instagram. “This happened multiple times, and photographic proof was collected yesterday in Nikšić, 74 km from the finish line.”

Having acquired an preliminary tip off from an “unofficial” supply, the organisers sought to substantiate the allegations, although they are saying that they had been unable to fulfill Gołębiewski at his relaxation and resupply areas.

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“Not wanting to act on allegations alone, the Race Director and crew waited for Radosław outside Nikšić and followed him,” the submit defined. “Radosław turned off route toward a parking area to meet a person in a van with Polish license plates. The same vehicle had also been reported around the CP1 and CP2 areas. The person in the van proceeded to provide Radosław with a full resupply. Photographic evidence was collected before Race Direction left the scene.”

In his personal Instagram reply, Gołębiewski accepted the disqualification, explaining that he took the bottle of Coca-Cola and banana from his accomplice “without thinking about the consequences.”

“I am not denying the organizers’ decision to disqualify,” he continued within the submit. “According to regulations, drinking beverages from outside was prohibited. I take full responsibility for this and apologise to everyone whom I disappointed with my reckless decision.”

Despite the proof of his dishonest, Gołębiewski – or ‘Radzilla’, as he’s identified by his followers – is a powerful extremely endurance athlete, having completed third on this 12 months’s Atlas Mountain Race. In the submit, he harassed that he had not acquired some other “unauthorised technical, logistical or nutritional assistance” and even had a damaged spoke within the rear wheel, which he cited as supporting proof for the declare.

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Clearly able to competing in an unsupported race and adhering to the foundations, race organisers took a harsher than regular punishment to show the severity of the breach. Where in different races, such a break could lead to a time penalty for the rider, Gołębiewski was disqualified completely.

“The Trans Balkan Race is an unsupported race,” the organiser’s submit continued. “Equal opportunity and fair play are core values of our event. An external support compromises the integrity of the race and the efforts of all other participants.”