Married, signed and conditionally imprisoned: Gaviria shocks with 2.40 ‰ DUI Arrest

Colombian rider Fernando Gaviria has had a hectic offseason, to put it mildly. The 31-year-old recently swapped the jersey of Movistar for Caja Rural, and in October he also tied the knot. But Tuesday brought shocking news from Monaco, where Gaviria was arrested in a car with a bizarrely high blood alcohol level.

We of course prefer to remember Gaviria as the man who, in 2017 riding for Quick-Step, claimed four Giro d’Italia stages and the points jersey. In 2018 he struck in the Tour de France — even wearing the yellow jersey for a while. His palmarès also includes victories in Poland, Tirreno-Adriatico, the UAE Tour and the Tour of Britain. Most of his wins came during his time with “The Wolfpack” and UAE.

But things took a dark turn. According to reporting by Nice Matin, a “professional cyclist” was convicted on Tuesday for driving under the influence in Monaco. The incident happened back in October, but the court only ruled now. It was allegedly Gaviria — who was caught with a staggering blood alcohol level of 2.40 grams per liter. That is five times above the legal limit.

Gaviria, who was stopped by police in broad daylight after displaying dangerous driving behaviour, was, according to the judge, “one or two drinks away from a coma”. He was ordered to sleep off his intoxication until midnight that day, before he was deemed fit to be held accountable and could be taken into custody. “I had slept a few hours and thought I was okay to drive, but that wasn’t the case. It was a mistake.”

The court imposed a two-month suspended prison sentence, banned him from driving in Monaco for two years, fined him €5,000, and issued three smaller additional penalties. Gaviria cited “work-related stress” and “family problems” as the reasons behind his alcohol consumption. One week after the arrest, he was due to get married in Colombia.