The 170 plus riders of the Giro d’Italia have a lot to contend with. There’s the brutal course, the relentless weather, and also illness and injury to worry about. On top of all that, there are a whole host of UCI rules that they are monitored on, and possibly fined points and Swiss Frances by the governing body’s commissaires.
There were no fines on stage on of this year’s race, which is pretty self explanatory, given it was an individual time trial.
However, over the next couple of days the UCI’s bank balance started to become inflated with various fines.
The most common infractions, so far, are disposing of bottles outside of litter zones, something that cycling’s governing body has got hot on in the last few years, and “unseemly or inappropriate behaviour”, a polite way of saying going to the toilet near cameras or fans.
Read on for all the fines that have been doled out to date in this year’s race.
How do Giro d’Italia fines work?
Any breaches that are spotted can be punished by the race commissaires who can dish out fines to the respective rider and teams, and in the most severe cases even disqualify riders.
Typically, fines are given out for drafting a vehicle, inappropriate or dangerous riding such as in a sprint, unauthorised fuelling in the final 20km or for littering in an undesignated area.
For the avoidance of doubt, “unseemly or inappropriate behaviour” usually means taking a leak near a camera or fans.
Fines are not limited to riders, though. Entire teams can be punished, and the most common person to be fined is often a team’s sports director for various infractions, especially
All fines are in Swiss francs, as this is where the UCI is based, in Aigle. In a move that might also prove crucial come the end of the season, riders and teams are often fined UCI points for their misdemeanours too; this could affect a team’s standing in the WorldTour points table.
Giro d’Italia fines stage-by-stage
Stage one
Nothing to report.
Stage two
Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) – unseemly or inappropriate behaviour, 200CHF
Bart Leysen (directeur sportif, Alpecin-Deceuninck) – unidentified rider disposing of a bottle outside of litter zones, 500CHF
Matteo Tosatto (directeur sportif, Ineos Grenadiers) – unidentified rider disposing of a bottle outside of litter zones, 500CHF
Gregory Rast (directeur sportif, Trek-Segafredo) – unidentified rider disposing of objects in a careless or dangerous manner, 500CHF
Stage three
Jefferson Cepeda (EF Education-EasyPost) – rider disposing of a bottle outside of litter zones, 500CHF and 25 UCI points
Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) – unseemly or inappropriate behaviour, 200CHF
Laurens De Plus (Ineos Grenadiers) – unseemly or inappropriate behaviour, 200CHF
