Silence from TotalEnergies following Geniez’s suspended prison sentence for domestic violence
The UCI has said that it will refer the case to its Ethics Commission, which will decide on whether to take disciplinary action.
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TotalEnergies has yet to officially comment after its rider Alexandre Geniez was handed a four-month suspended prison sentence for domestic violence against his ex-wife.
The French rider was handed the suspension Wednesday. He denied the charges leading up to the verdict but was found guilty after prosecutors had initially requested that he be given a six-month sentence.
Lucie Garrigues, Geniez’s ex-wife and the mother of his two children, reported the violence to the French authorities on November 21. The abuse dated back to the previous year.
Also read:
- Alexandre Geniez gets four-month suspended prison sentence for domestic violence
- TotalEnergies’ Alexandre Geniez appears in French court on charges of domestic violence
In court, Garrigues stated that Geniez had thrown a phone at her on November 7. Later that month Geniez left Garrigues with a hematoma on her forehead that needed medical attention.
“I wonder what would have happened if my daughter hadn’t been in the hallway when he took my arm,” Garrigues said in her testimony before the court.
The UCI has said it will refer the case to its Ethics Commission, which will then make a decision as to whether disciplinary proceedings should be opened.
“The UCI had not previously been made aware of the criminal proceedings against Mr Geniez. As this is a matter that would fall under the jurisdiction of the UCI Ethics Commission pursuant to Appendix 1 of the UCI Code of Ethics, we will draw their attention to the decision from the French court,” a UCI statement sent to VeloNews said. “The Ethics Commission will consider whether to ask for the production of documentation with a view to opening disciplinary proceedings.”
VeloNews reached out to TotalEnergies for comment Thursday.
Despite calls and messages — which were read by the team press officer in France — asking for both a statement and if Geniez would remain with the team, no response was forthcoming. A second team press officer was traveling and unable to comment at this time.
The team’s social media in recent days has not mentioned Geniez’s suspended sentence. Instead, the team has posted rider updates and news about its new TikTok channel.
On February 24, the team posted a message on Twitter celebrating Geniez’s stage win in the Tour du Rwanda.
According to reports, Geniez is set to retire at the end of this season.