Cyclist Fined and Suspended After Shooting and Killing Cat

In perhaps the most bizarre story of this young cycling season, cyclist Antonio Tiberi has been suspended by his Trek-Segafredo team and fined €4,000 ($4,240) after shooting and killing a local tourism minister’s cat with an air rifle.

Tiberi—who lives in the tiny independent nation of San Marino, a landlocked microstate within central-eastern Italy—was testing out a new air rifle when he fired at his neighbor’s cat, striking it in the head and killing the animal.

The neighbor, Sammarinese minister of tourism Federico Pedini Amati, told the Italy’s daily newspaper Corriere della Sera that, while he appreciated Tiberi coming forward to admit his mistake, he was not satisfied with a simple fine.

“You cannot kill a pet and get away with a €4,000 fine,” Pedini Amati said, adding how much his three-year-old daughter loved the cat.

Shortly after the fine was levied, Trek-Segafredo tweeted a statement, condemning Tiberi’s actions and outlining his 20-day suspension, which comes without pay. Due to the suspension, Tiberi will miss the Trofeo Liagueglia, Tirreno-Adriatico, and Milano-Torino races. The team has also pledged to donate Tiberi’s suspended pay to an “appropriate animal care, protection, and rescue organization.”

Tiberi released a statement, too. The 21-year old said, “I deeply regret my shameful actions. I did something tremendously stupid and irresponsible, the seriousness and danger of which I realized only after the act.” He added that he will donate his 2023 prize winnings to animal welfare organizations in San Marino.

Tiberi signed with Trek-Segafredo in 2020, after winning the 2019 junior time trial at the World Championships. Since then, he’s won one stage at the 2022 Tour de Hongrie and has had a handful of top 10 finishes. This year, he finished seventh at the UAE Tour.

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