Kiaan Watts: New Zealand cyclist banned for punching rival in head during race

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

New Zealand cyclist Kiaan Watts has been handed a 25-day ban by world cycling’s governing body, the UCI.

It follows an incident where he punched a fellow competitor during a race last month.

The 24-year-old was captured on video footage striking Dutch cyclist Marijn Maas in the head during the Salverda Bouw Ster van Zwolle race in the Netherlands on 7 March.

The UCI confirmed that Watts had accepted the sanction, which will see him suspended until 2 May.

In a statement, the governing body said: “Kiaan Watts will serve a period of suspension of 25 days, with the one-day suspension imposed on the rider by his team on March 8 being credited from the period of suspension.”

Following the altercation, Watts issued an apology on social media, attributing his actions to the “heat of the moment”.

His NSN Development Team also released a statement, expressing regret.

“The team expects that its riders race in a sporting and professional manner at all times and wishes to extend an apology to Marijn Maas, the BEAT CC p/b Saxo team, race organisers, and the UCI Commissaires,” the team stated.

For more: Elrisala website and for social networking, you can follow us on Facebook
Source of information and images “independent”“