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controversialCBA B17[PHOTOOFTHEDAY]In the weeks and months after
Maggie Coles-Lyster alleges she
was sexually assaulted, the Cana-
dian cyclist buried herself in her
sport.
The 21-year-old from Maple
Ridge, B.C., was just 18 when she
joined Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport’s
women’s team as a development
rider in 2017. It was during a mul-
tiday race in the Netherlands that
she said she was repeatedly sex-
ually assaulted during massages
by someone associated with the
team.
The global body for cycling –
the Union Cycliste Internationale
(UCI) – has launched a formal in-
vestigation into the Belgian team
after Coles-Lyster and American
cyclist Sara Youmans alleged
abuses within the squad.
The allegations haven’t been
proved in court.
“I didn’t talk about it for a
while,” Coles-Lyster said in a re-
cent phone interview. “I didn’t
know what effect that would have
on me. You’re always considering
your future career. There’s always
the not being believed, still kind
of wrapping your mind around
what happened. And then when I
started talking to Sara, she was
coming out with her story ... I re-
alized that it’s shocking how
many people don’t really realize
this happens in the sport.
“I felt this is a very important
message and story that needs to
get out for change to start hap-pening because this is out of hand
right now.”
Coles-Lyster, who captured
two medals for Canada at last
summer’s Pan American Games
in Lima, alleged she was assaulted
during her first massage with the
Belgian team, which was then un-
der title sponsors Lares-Waow-
deals. The Canadian alleged the
individual straddled her around
the tops of her legs and touched
her genitals, which “seemed like a
strange practice to me.” She said
the sexual assault was repeated
during massage sessions on days
that followed.
She also alleged the individual
took pictures of her during group
meals and sent them to her with
intimate messages.
Coles-Lyster eventually confid-ed in her parents. It was a difficult
conversation.
“It took a lot of courage for me
to come forward and talk to them
about it, because it’s the whole, as
a victim actually understanding
and coming to terms with what
happened,” she said. “There’s re-
ally a big stigma that a lot of wom-
en feel around this, even unfortu-
nately embarrassment, guilt,
shame, all these emotions and
even though you know your par-
ents would always believe you,
there’s always just these thoughts
in your head. But you know
they’re going to support you and
love you no matter what.
“I have a great relationship
with my parents. So once we ac-
tually got the conversation roll-
ing, it wasn’t that hard to talk tothem about it, and for them to
help me.”
Coles-Lyster also reached the
podium twice in UCI criterium
races last season, and had a UCI
victory on the track.
Team director Marc Bracke said
in an e-mail that Coles-Lyster in-
formed staff in April of 2017 that
she “didn’t feel safe” around the
individual “because he was stalk-
ing her with messages and photos
... I took this seriously as a man-
ager.”
Bracke said he’d been unaware
of Coles-Lyster’s allegations of
sexual assault until “I had to hear
from the press last Saturday. I can
understand that Maggy didn’t
just dare to say this despite being
safe in our team.”
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