Johannes Staune-Mittet’s preparations for the 2026 road season haven’t gone quite to plan so far, after the Norwegian pro revealed this week that he was issued a €100 fine by police while training in Alicante – for using earphones during his ride.
In the United Kingdom, there is currently no law prohibiting cyclists from wearing headphones while on their bike. However, that is not the case in Spain and the Canary Islands, where riding with earphones is not permitted and could result in a costly €200 fine.
And with professionals from across Europe flocking to the Costa Blanca this month for their teams’ annual pre-Christmas training camps, it’s perhaps no surprise that one or two of them, bopping along to their favourite techno track as they finish off one last interval, would be unaware of Spain’s stringent earphone legislation.
At least that was the case for Staune-Mittet, after the 23-year-old Decathlon rider was issued a €100 penalty by Spain’s traffic police on Monday, for riding with a pair of Apple AirPods.
Johannes Staune-Mittet wins stage three of the 2023 Czech Tour (credit: Czech Tour)
The Norwegian, tipped as one of the sport’s most exciting climbing and stage racing prospects since his win at the 2023 Giro Next Gen, was stopped by police during a 73km ride around Calpe, in Spain’s Alicante province.
The 23-year-old is currently preparing for his second season at French WorldTour squad Decathlon CMA CGM, who he joined at the start of 2025 in a surprise move after four seasons with Visma-Lease a Bike’s development and senior teams, making his grand tour debut at the Vuelta a España in August, finishing 42nd overall.
In a Strava post detailing Monday’s training ride, Staune-Mittet shared a short clip of him holding the penalty notice issued to him by the Spanish authorities for “driving while using headphones or earphones connected to devices that receive or play sound”.
Failing to abide by this rule, which applies to both motorists and cyclists, could result in a €200 fine, according to Spain’s Reglamento General de Circulacion, though by paying early Staune-Mittet was able to avoid this higher penalty, instead coughing up €100.
Interestingly, while the notice handed to Staune-Mittet takes note of the bike he was riding, a Van Rysel, under ‘vehicle class’ it is simply designated as ‘other’.
“Guess it is better to buy a pair of those ugly out-of-ear headphones than to get fined for AirPods every day,” the 23-year-old joked in his Strava caption.
> Wearing earphones while cycling — is it allowed? What does the Highway Code say?
The debate surrounding the use of earphones while cycling is a long running one, especially in the UK, where the practice is still legally permitted.
Two years ago, the discussion was reignited by, naturally, Jeremy Vine, after the broadcaster posted a video on social media of a crash caused by a submerged pothole as he cycled through London. The pedalling presenter lost an earphone in the fall, returning to pick it up off the ground shortly after, the footage sparking numerous replies questioning the safety of cycling with earphones in.
Cyclist with earbuds (credit: Simon MacMichael)
A 2018 Dutch study, published in the Journal of Accident Analysis and Prevention, also found that using headphones “negatively affects perception of sounds crucial for safe cycling”.
“However, taking into account the influence of confounding variables, no relationship was found between the frequency of listening to music or talking on the phone and the frequency of incidents among teenage cyclists,” the research concluded.
And wider public opinion appears to be in favour of prohibiting cyclists from wearing earphones while cycling, a 2014 BBC survey finding that nine in ten support a ban, the E-Survey of Road Users’ Attitudes (ESRA) putting that figure at two thirds in a more recent survey.
Staune-Mittet will be relieved, however, to avoid the hefty €400 penalty dished out last year to a student in France, where cycling with earphones is also banned. The 23-year-old student also found out about his substantial fine the hard way – by having the money blocked in his bank account, despite never receiving any notice of a fine from the police.
Martin, a student in La Rochelle, was riding his bike in August 2023 when he was stopped by the police. He told France Bleu last year that he wasn’t aware of the law and thought he was being pulled over for something else.
“I didn’t understand at all why I was getting stopped as I didn’t know the law. I asked them: ‘Am I going too fast?’,” he said.
Martin told the officers that he was unaware of the law, introduced in 2015, and took off his headphones immediately. He didn’t think much of it, until seven months later when he found out that €400 — which he pointed out is equivalent to two months rent at his university accommodation — had been blocked in his bank account by the La Rochelle fines office.
So count yourself lucky there, Johannes.