![\"Tadej](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2160058250-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCofidis cyclist fined for peeing in public slams commissaires as riders change nature break tactics due to high pace and scorching heat. <\/p>\n
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TORINO, ITALY – JULY 01: Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia and UAE Team Emirates – Yellow leader jersey in a sanitair stop during the 111th Tour de France 2024, Stage 3 a 230.8km stage from Piacenza to Torino \/ #UCIWT \/ on July 01, 2024 in Torino, Italy. (Photo by Tim de Waele\/Getty Images) (Photo: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Updated July 24, 2026 08:17AM<\/p>\n
We have another pee-gate in the peloton.<\/p>\n
The UCI<\/a> handed French racer Hugo Page a 500 CHF ($615 USD) penalty for what race jurors called \u201cunseemly or inappropriate behavior (urinating in public during the race) and damaging the image of the sport\u201d during stage 17 Wednesday.<\/p>\n He is the first rider in the 2026 Tour de France<\/a> to be slapped with a fine for that reason.<\/p>\n What happened? Velo caught up with whizz kid Page, who was up in the break that day and finished 12th as Jasper Philipsen<\/a> rocketed to victory in Voiron.<\/p>\n Paying the price for a pacy race \u201cThe race is getting faster and faster and at a certain moment, I wasn\u2019t able to stop to pee at the side of the road when it\u2019s going full gas,\u201d he told Velo.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going all-out for two hours and need a nature break. I tried to do it where there were as few people as possible because I thought about being respectful, but when you\u2019re on the Tour and there are spectators every 100 meters, it\u2019s really complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n Page said that he tried to hold off but if he had stopped, he\u2019d be out of the day\u2019s key breakaway. He urinated off the bike, like other members of the large stage 17 escape<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes I wonder if the commissaires have ever ridden a bike in their lives,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Fines for urination are often handed out when the act is committed in front of a member of the public.<\/p>\n Page ended up being hit in the wallet. Well, not exactly his: the team paid the fine \u2013 but Page said he bought the staff beers that night.<\/p>\n Urine the news again This is the latest nature break story making headlines. In May at the Giro d\u2019Italia<\/a>, the UCI issued a bizarre warning on stage 9, informing all riders that \u201curinating into a bottle and subsequently discarding it is strictly prohibited\u201d.<\/p>\n Victor Campenaerts came forward as a culprit of this technique<\/a>, which the Visma-Lease a Bike rider claimed was better than peeing in front of people and exposing himself.<\/p>\n \u201cThey say you can\u2019t pee in the bidons, now we can\u2019t go on the road anymore,\u201d Page says. \u201cNext time, maybe they should put spots with toilets every 50 kilometers.\u201d<\/p>\n Your move, UCI. Time for designated pee zones?<\/p>\n Too fast to stop for a pee<\/p>\n There have been far fewer pee penalties this year than other editions: in 2021, there were 15 fines handed out, as reported by Escape Collective<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the name of hard-hitting investigative reporting, Velo quizzed the Tour peloton on their tactics for nature breaks.<\/p>\n Jayco Alula veteran Luke Durbridge reckons the reason is because \u201cno-one can stop. The race is so fast. I think I\u2019ve stopped on the side of the road two or three times this entire race [up to stage 18].<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t, if you\u2019re doing 55ks an hour, with 100k to go, it\u2019s crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n The ploys for peeing pedallers<\/p>\n Another reason is the temperatures this July which have been as hot as the pace. NSN Cycling Team racer George Bennett<\/a> talks about being \u201cchronically dehydrated\u201d so it has not been an issue for the New Zealand.<\/p>\n When there is a moment to pause to water the plants, many riders are wary of spoiling the experience for the public as they ride past.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause the pace is so high, I like to piss on the bike,\u201d Jayco Alula rider Luke Durbridge<\/a> tells Velo. \u201cYou\u2019ve just to try and find a section where there\u2019s no public.\u201d<\/p>\n Easier said than done at the Tour.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not easy \u2013 if you\u2019ve got to cut it off early, you\u2019ve got to cut it off early. You don\u2019t want to be showing anything,\u201d Durbridge, who is racing his last Tour de France before retirement, says.<\/p>\n That often means a midstream pause. \u201cYou might sit on it and go a little bit in your chamois, but I\u2019d much prefer that than on a little kid on the side of the road!\u201d he says, laughing.<\/p>\n Forests, fields and away from fans<\/p>\n
\n![\"Hugo](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2287194470-720x480.jpg\"\/)
Hugo Page crosses the line on stage 17, fighting for the win, unaware of the fine he is about to be given. (Photo by Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/water-bottles-uci-warning-pee-720x480.jpg\"\/)
The UCI warned riders not to urinate into bidons during the 2026 Giro d\u2019Italia. (Photo: Artur Widak\/NurPhoto)<\/p>\n