Amateur cyclist and GFNY gran fondo series organizer Uli Fluhme has accused three times UCI Road World Champion Peter Sagan of doping – although Sagan has never participated in any of Fluhme’s gran fondo events.

Commenting on Sagan’s recent lackluster performance at Strade Bianche, Fluhme engaged in a childish tit-for-tat discussion on Twitter, where he said “[Sagan is] definitely is one of the worst dopers and possibly also motordopers of the last decade,” acknowledged he has no facts to support the allegation, implied the entire pro peloton was fraudulent, and that he “understands [the sport] more than you [will] ever dream.”

Fluhme’s comments bring several oft quoted phrases to mind: “The pot calling the kettle black” and “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”

Although without facts Fluhme is quick to accuse World Champion Peter Sagan of doping, he is slow (or unwilling) to publicly comment on several factual GFNY doping incidents within his own series:

GFNY North American Champion and series ambassador Alejandra Echeverri tested positive for a banned substance after finishing third at GFNY Florida in October 2022 and was sentenced to a one-year ban by the United States Anti Doping Agency (USADA). According to GFNY’s anti-doping rules 9.2 and 9.4, Echeverri should receive an immediate life-time ban from GFNY events and reimburse the cost of the anti-doping test.

Another GFNY ambassador and top competitor, Rudy Villabos, was caught doping and subsequently banned by the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) for four-years, yet their is no indication Fluhme ever issued a statement on the matter.

And finally, Adrian Alvarado is a former pro rider banned two-years by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in 2014 for Erythropoietin (EPO) doping, but even though Fluhme’s position is “we don’t invite active or former pros who have been caught for doping or implicated in a scandal” to GFNY events, Fluhme allowed Alvarado to race and earn a bronze medal at the 2022 GFNY World Championships.

Photo Credit: Team TotalEnergies, Twitter

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