The former Saxo Bank rider Jonathan Bellis has been fined for assaulting his girlfriend.
Bellis, who represented Britain the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, appeared in court in Cheltenham on Tuesday (March 26), charged with drunkenly attacking his partner earlier this month.
The 30-year-old confessed to hitting her at the Gloucestershire flat they shared on March 8, leaving her with injuries to her face, arm and ear, Gloucestershire Live reports.
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Bellis, who did not remember the attack, suffered a brain injury in 2009 that triggered aggression when he drank alcohol, according to the prosecution.
Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court heard that Bellis and his partner had been in a relationship for seven months when the attack happened.
They had been drinking with friends in Cheltenham before they returned to their flat, when Bellis’ partner asked him not to drink any more alcohol when his mood started to turn.
The partner rang 999, but Bellis took the phone from her and blocked the exit to the home.
Bellis then carried out the assault, hitting her in the side of the face “two or three times,” leaving her with a cut lip, and bruises to her arm and ear.
A neighbour heard the noise and attended the flat, where he saw the victim distressed.
Bellis had drunk two and a half pints of ale and two and a half glasses of wine before the assault, the court heard.
He was fined £635 and ordered to pay the victim £100 compensation.
District judge Bopa Rai also imposed a five-year restraining order on Bellis and said he must make no contact with the victim.
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Bellis turned pro with CSC ProTeam in 2008, before joining Saxo Bank the following year.
He left for An Post-Sean Kelly in 2012, retiring in 2015 after a season with One Pro Cycling in Britain.
In 2009, Bellis suffered a serious injury in a moped crash at the GB training base in Quarrata, Tuscany.
He hit a wall and sustained serious head injuries, being put into a medically induced coma shortly after an operation to relieve pressure on his brain.
