Chinese cyclist banned following attack on rival team

A Chinese cyclist has been banned following an attack on a rival team at the Tour of Hainan.

Wang Xin was told to leave the island after he assaulted members of the Swiss national team, stopping only when police intervened as he grabbed a foot pump.

Wang and his team, Keyi Look, have been barred by the Chinese Cycling Association from all competition for two years.

Wang alleged he was knocked off his bike by the Swiss team’s car, a claim Swiss Cycling team manager Danilo Hondo denied when talking to Eurosport after the race: "We never bumped into him, you can see that from the race video.

"He simply hit the back wheel of another rider and went down. He was obviously embarrassed and took out his frustration on us.

"We tried to approach him after the race, in fact we waited 45 minutes after the finish to apologise for any misunderstandings and to show him and his team that we respect them and meant no harm.

"But both he and his team approached us with anger and everything escalated from there."