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Susanne Andersen after being knocked from her bike (TV2 still).PNGNorwegian federation claims Qatari police driver deliberately knocked female rider off bike at World Championships
Norway’s national cycling federation has claimed that a police officer in Qatar deliberately knocked one of its riders from her bike during the UCI Road World Championships in Doha last month – and says it may have been because she was considered inappropriately dressed for a woman.
The claim was made in a report on the television channel TV2 by Hans Falk, head of sport at the Norges Cykleforbund, who said the incident happened after Susanne Andersen had completed the junior women’s time trial.
Falk said he was advised not to report the incident to police due to concerns that the 18-year-old, who would take bronze in the junior women’s road race later in the week, would not be allowed to leave the country.
“I’m convinced it was a deliberate act by the policeman who drove straight at Susanne,” he said.
Asked whether that was an exaggeration without evidence to back it up, he conceded, “I cannot say for sure. But there were no skid marks, and he had no sympathy.
“Instead, he lit a cigarette and was talking on his phone without a care for the girl who was lying on the ground screaming.”
Andersen, who suffered nothing worse than grazes and bruises, although her bike was badly damaged, said at her home in Stavanger, “Imagine how bad it could have been?”
Falk put forward one theory that could explain why the police officer may have deliberately driven at the rider.
“We were told that it isn’t that unusual for women with bare legs, considered to be dressed in a challenging manner, to be run over,” he explained.
While the Gulf state does not expect non-Muslim women to comply with its laws regarding dress, foreigners are expected to dress “modestly,” and a social media campaign two years ago urged visitors not to wear items such as shorts or leggings.
Following the incident involving Andersen, Falk says he tried to get the UCI to warn other countries but was told that they were guests in Qatar and had to respect traffic laws.
TV2 reported the UCI as saying that “The situation was handled at the time and reported to the public authorities via the local organising committee.”
The channel added that it had received no reply to a request for a comment from the authorities in Qatar.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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36 comments
no, although it does say quite a lot about the moral condition of your friends - just like this thread is full of speculative prejudices based upon media headlines rather than actual experience…
maybe the guy just doesn't like Scotts, I know I don't
Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. I dare say people who live very affluent lives in the UK have a very different perspective on life than those on the breadline.
Woah there, Alanis... your post is just a tad full of speculative prejudices rather than actual experience of fellow commenters, or Chris James's friends, no?
No, I was responding directly to the idea that both Chris' friends and the UCI were primarily motivated by money and would give tacit support to a country with an awful human rights record because of this - that is my prejudice.
What I am avoiding is speculating about the motivation for the act itself, given only third or fourth-hand gossip about the possible motivations of the policeman involved and then making gross generalisations about "their" motivations from the act of one single idiot.
had someone said that all cigarette smoking, car driving policemen should be strung up - at least that would be on topic!
on that basis, prejudices against men, car drivers, and the police, would at least be appropriate even if somewhat questionable...
if we're going to speculate, then maybe he's from Qatar, maybe he's religious, maybe he even has a sexual preference for goats, or coal… who knows, or cares? - it simply isn't relevant to the report - and no, I do not wish to read about your opinion concerning people who have a sexual preference for coal at this particular point in time thank you very much - although do feel free to bring it up if and when it becomes relevant to the actual thread.
agreed
Wouldn't it be great if people could move on without feeling that impromptu 'punishment stops' are justified. Some countries are still run by bullies, and bullies may be coming, again, to a jurisdiction near you.
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