Johan Bruyneel, Lance Armstrong's former manager, is not authorised to be at the Tour de France's accredited areas, the UCI has stressed.
Cycling's governing body released a statement on Tuesday evening which reiterated that Bruyneel was banned for life from any activity related to cycling, after the 60-year-old was present at the Tour last week.
The Belgian was a guest on VRT programme Vive le Velo on stage 12, but the UCI said that he should never have been allowed access.
In a press release, a spokesperson for the UCI said: "The Union Cycliste Internationale noted the presence of Mr Johan Bruyneel in the Tour de France start village on 17 July 2025 in connection with his participation in Vive le vélo, a programme broadcast by the Flemish-language Belgian public television channel VRT1.
"On 25 October 2018, Mr Bruyneel was sanctioned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) with a life ban for anti-doping rules violations when he worked with the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team and the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team.
"In accordance with Article 10.14 of the World Anti-Doping Code and the UCI Anti-Doping Rules, Mr Bruyneel is banned for life from taking part in any activity related to cycling. While he is free to attend a cycling event registered on the UCI International Calendar - such as the Tour de France - as a regular spectator, he is strictly prohibited from participating in the event in any role or capacity, or from accessing areas that are closed to the public. This includes, in particular, areas of the Tour de France that require accreditation.
"As a person serving a lifetime ban, Mr Bruyneel was therefore not authorised to be present in the Tour de France start village or team area.
"The UCI would like to add that the accreditation process for the Tour de France is not its responsibility, but rather is that of Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the race organiser. The UCI confirms that it has contacted ASO to clarify whether Mr Bruyneel was granted an official accreditation, to understand how this could have happened, and to ensure that no further accreditation will be issued to him.
"The UCI stresses that it is closely following this matter and will take all appropriate measures."
Last week, the programme's editor-in-chief, Leendert Derck, told Sporza: "We have carefully considered whether we can invite him," says
"According to VRT rules, we are allowed to invite someone who has been suspended, but this must be mentioned."
"We've also made that clear to Bruyneel himself. He knows that questions about his past will arise, and he's prepared to answer them."
Bruyneel was banned from sport for 10 years after he helped and encouraged riders to dope at the US Postal Service and Discovery Channel teams.
Bruyneel had appealed the ban, which was imposed by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) in 2012, but while considering the appeal CAS ruled that Bruyneel should be banned for the rest of his life.
