What looked like a strange and costly infringement for Tadej Pogačar after Liège–Bastogne–Liège didn’t last long.
The world champion had barely stepped off the podium, smiling with yet another trophy, when news broke of a 5,000 Swiss franc fine (around eight grand in Canuck Bucks) from the UCI. The explanation, an issue with sponsor placement on his rainbow jersey, raised eyebrows, and not just online.
Within hours, the penalty was quietly scrapped. Initially, Cycling Twitter had all kinds of theories about what it was about. Because despite the fine, the UCI didn’t seem to offer why Pogi got it. Some initial thoughts had to do with the front of the jersey.
Something about the space between the UAE Team Emirates logo and the rainbow bands on Pogi’s jersey. Cycling sartorial experts said it was much closer, tighter than regulations allow. The rules about the rainbow jersey are pretty strict–the UCI has a template and riders must follow it to the inch…well, cm. (As Big Brain Brett told Jules in Pulp Fiction: “Uh, because of the metric system.”)
Although many national championship jerseys allow some flexibility—there are hardly any regulations here in Canada, though some countries do have stricter specs—there’s no deviating from the UCI’s precious rainbow jersey.
But turns out, it wasn’t that.
According to Sporza, the problem actually dated back to the team presentation the day before. Pogačar wore a long-sleeved version of the world champion’s jersey that featured branding from his personal sponsor, the fancy watchmaker Richard Mille, printed near the wrists, an area traditionally subject to strict UCI rules.
That same jersey made another appearance during Sunday’s podium ceremony, triggering the fine.
But here’s where it gets messy: recent updates to clothing regulations had already loosened restrictions around such sponsor placements. The catch? The UCI official on duty reportedly applied the old rules.
In the end, the sanction didn’t stick, and Pogačar rode away without paying a cent. Btw, the fine was equivalent to roughly 2 to 8 per cent of a typical Richard Mille timepiece, in case you wondered.
As far as the actual races? They were pretty damn great. Demi Vollering took a fantastic win, and both Bella Holmgren and Magdeleine Vallières Mill were in the top-10. Pogi won, but teenager Paul Seixas certainly made him earn it.