Former pro cyclist banned for life by Cycling Canada for sexual misconduct and grooming a minor

A former professional cyclist has been banned for life from participating in the sport in any capacity, either as an athlete, coach, volunteer, or spectator, after a Cycling Canada panel found him guilty of sexual misconduct and the grooming of a minor.

In a statement released on Friday, the governing body for cycling Canada announced that an Abuse-Free Sport adjudication panel had found that Alexander Amiri had breached “various” sections of its code of conduct and was now “permanently ineligible” from all Cycling Canada-sanctioned or affiliated events.

Amiri, a 27-year-old from Victoria, British Columbia, represented his home province at the 2017 Canada Games, before briefly turning pro in 2019 for the American UCI Continental team 303Project. During the 2019 season, he raced in Europe for 303Project at Romania’s Sibiu Tour and the Trofeu Joaquim Agostinho in Portugal, while also competing against WorldTour riders at a handful of small Spanish one-day events.

He last raced in 2021 for Team California, picking up the best pro result of his career at the Joe Martin Stage Race in Fayetteville, when he finished sixth on the fourth and final stage.

> Sir Bradley Wiggins names cycling coach who sexually abused him and other young cyclists at club

According to Cycling Canada, Amiri’s breaches of conduct included, but were not limited to, sexual misconduct and the grooming of a minor. The governing body did not specify the nature of Amiri’s other breaches, nor is it clear in which capacity the 27-year-old carried out his abuse.

Pacific Cycling Centre, a Victoria-based company providing coaching and training services for which Amiri was writing training blogs in 2020, has since deleted all stories referencing the rider. The Pacific Cycling Centre is owned and managed by Houshang Amiri, a former head coach for the Canadian track and mountain bike squads, director of Canada’s National Cycling Centre, and coach to world time trial silver medallist Svein Tuft.

“Cycling Canada advises that Mr. Alexander Amiri of Victoria, BC, is permanently ineligible from all Cycling Canada, and affiliated, activities and events as a participant in any capacity, including coach, athlete, volunteer, employee, consultant, commentator, assistant, or spectator,” the governing body’s statement, released on Friday, says.

“This sanction is imposed based on the finding of an adjudicative Panel that Alexander Amiri breached various sections of the 2021 Cycling Canada Code of Conduct and Ethics. These breaches include, but are not limited to, sexual misconduct and grooming of a minor.

“Cycling Canada commends the courage of those who have come forward regarding this matter and will not comment further on this case out of respect for their privacy and confidentiality.

“Cycling Canada has a fundamental responsibility to protect the health and well-being of its organisation, members, and participants, all of whom have the right to play and compete in an environment free from harassment, maltreatment, and abuse.

“To that end, Cycling Canada became an early signatory of the Abuse-Free Sport Programme in December 2022 and remains committed to working closely with its members to create safe and inclusive environments that foster and preserve positive, healthy, and enjoyable experiences for all.”

> Sir Bradley Wiggins: “I don’t ride a bike anymore because I don’t like the person I became when I was on it”

Amiri’s lifetime ban comes less than a year after Sir Bradley Wiggins publicly revealed for the first time that he had suffered abuse at the hands of a cycling coach as a child.

In an interview with the Times, the 2012 Tour de France winner recalled how Stan Knight, who died in 2003, would take him on training camps to a youth hostel in Dorset aged 12, sleep in the same bed, and abuse him in the shower, accusations repeated in the account of another victim.

Knight was a coach at the Archer Road Club in London and has attracted complaints from more former members than just Wiggins and the other rider the newspaper spoke to, with the family of another boy also reporting concerns to British Cycling.

Wiggins explained how his abuse began with “minor acts” presented under the pretence that Knight’s actions were simply to help with sporting performance.

Following the allegations, British Cycling offered a statement saying “abuse of any kind has no place in sport” and urged anyone with “concerns about non-recent or current abuse to report them” to the governing body’s safeguarding team.