UCI hands out first yellow card of the 2026 season on stage 1 of the Tour Down Under

The 2026 season is the second year of the UCI’s yellow card discipline system, and it hasn’t taken long for a rider to fall foul of the rules and pick up a warning card this season.

Last season, stage 6 of the Tour Down Under saw Decathlon AG2R mechanic Luis Lamas Vazquez receive cycling’s first yellow card for leaning out of a moving vehicle.

The French team celebrated victory on the second stage of the race on Wednesday as Danish sprinter Tobias Lund Andresen sped to glory in Tanunda, taking over the race lead. However, his teammate, Norwegian rider Tord Gudmestad, was shown a yellow card.

Gudmestad was the last man for Lund Andresen, successfully dropping him off to launch the final sprint, but it was what he did a few seconds later which saw him penalised. The 24-year-old raised an arm in celebration as Lund Andresen crossed the line, meaning he broke regulation 5.2 – ‘Rider decelerating during a sprint and endangering other riders (a teammate of a sprinter knowingly staying in the line of other riders, celebrating in the peloton, talking on the radio, or taking their hands off the handlebars inside the peloton)’.

As a result, Gudmestad was shown his first yellow card, demoted from 13th place to 134th, and he’ll also receive a small fine.

Gudmestad now has to avoid picking up another yellow card this week. Should he do so, he’ll be disqualified from the race and handed a seven-day suspension from racing. Three yellow cards in 30 days equal a 14-day suspension, while six in a year bring a 30-day suspension.

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He’s the 114th rider to pick up a yellow card since the system was introduced at the start of 2025, joining big names including Tim Merlier, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, and Jonathan Milan on the list of riders to be shown a card.

Meanwhile, he’s the 10th rider to pick up a yellow card for breaking regulation 5.2. Laurence Pithie, Matthew Brennan, and Kaden Groves are among the other riders to fall foul of that regulation.

⚡Perfect timing, and a perfect execution from the guys at @decathloncmacgm! A late comeback from Sam Welsford and Matty Brennan can’t challenge the Dane, and Tobias Lund Andresen takes Stage 1!📺 Stream the race now on 7plus: https://t.co/k2Exq3GblT@vanguard_au |… pic.twitter.com/kqebbCDVb5January 21, 2026