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News & Racing<\/a><\/p>\n Tadej Poga\u010dar’s podium appearance at Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge earned him a huge UCI fine\u00a0\u2013\u00a0which was removed a few hours later. Why? <\/p>\n Tadej Poga\u010dar\u2019s latest monument win<\/a> at Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge was proof of a few things: the Slovenian\u2019s firm grip at the top of the sport, Paul Seixas\u2019 rapid rise to challenge him<\/a>, and the UCI\u2019s inconsistent application of its own rules.<\/p>\n The latter manifested itself in the post-race jury report, with Poga\u010dar walloped with a 5,000 CHF (~US$6,350 \/ \u20ac5,400) fine for violating UCI Article 1.3.072.6: World Champion Equipment\u00a0\u2013\u00a0specifically for the “wrong place of the publicity on the world champion jersey during the award ceremony.”<\/p>\n Around five hours later, this was quietly retracted. Neither the UCI nor the race jury has made any public comment on why the fine was specifically imposed in the first place, nor why it was revoked.\u00a0<\/p>\n So what can we figure out? Let\u2019s have a look.\u00a0<\/p>\n A search for precedent<\/p>\n Firstly, we now have further evidence that the UCI takes its rainbow bands extremely seriously. We abstractly knew this to be the case: in 2025, there was a polite but forceful push from the UCI to remove the bike and component manufacturer Ritchey\u2019s right to use the rainbow bands<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 despite the fact that Ritchey was using them a full couple of decades before\u00a0the UCI was granted a trademark in early 2010.\u00a0<\/p>\n Courtesy of Poga\u010dar yesterday, there\u2019s now a monetary value attached to how severely the UCI views this type of infraction, and 5,000 CHF is at the extreme upper end of the financial penalties that the UCI doles out. For some context: Kiaan Watts punching another rider in the head mid-race<\/a> elicited a 200 CHF fine. Isaac del Toro\u2019s nipples being out that one time<\/a>: 200 CHF. Lenny Martinez with one of the most egregious sticky bottles in recent memory<\/a>: 200 CHF.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Behold, Isaac del Toro\u2019s banned nipples<\/p>\n Chest buttons so spicy they \u201cdamage the image of sport\u201d.<\/p>\n While that may sound like the UCI juries have a one-size-fits-all approach to how they levy their fines, don\u2019t be fooled. Jhonatan Narv\u00e1ez improperly disposing of litter at the 2025 Tour de France (500 CHF) is, in the inconsistently applied logic of the UCI commissaires, a greater offence than Arnaud de Lie having a public toilet break in the same race (200 CHF), or, for that matter, Julien Bernard kissing his wife<\/a> at the 2024 Tour de France (also 200 CHF).\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Julien Bernard\u2019s illicit \u2018dream moment\u2019: What is cycling if not this?<\/p>\n It was a dream for hometown hero Julien Bernard to spend a few seconds with his family and friends on stage 7, but the UCI was having none of it.<\/p>\n So what kind of offense does get you anywhere near Poga\u010dar\u2019s 5,000 CHF fine, if punching someone in the head at 45 km\/h does not? Something pretty bad, that\u2019s what!<\/p>\n The Bulgarian Cycling Federation\u2019s vice-president, Danail Petrov Angelov, copped the same penalty for \u201cpsychological abuse\u201d related to \u201cincidents of verbal assault and intimidation towards members of the cycling community\u201d, along with a two-year ban. And for in-race incidents, you have to do something pretty egregious\u00a0\u2013\u00a0like, say, Ineos Grenadiers\u2019 director Oliver Cookson literally running over a spectator with a team car in the 2025 Tour.<\/p>\n What did Poga\u010dar do?\u00a0<\/p>\n There was some speculation that the presence of a black armband, as worn during the race, might have been the culprit \u2013\u00a0a mark of mourning for the death of Poga\u010dar\u2019s former teammate, Cristian Camilo Mu\u00f1oz<\/a>, after an infection following a recent crash. But, although this armband blocked the left rainbow armbands, the specifics cited in the jury report make it clear that this is not the cause: we must search deeper in the dusty depths of the UCI\u2019s website for a rationale.\u00a0<\/p>\n The answer likely lies in the snappily titled \u2018UCI Jerseys Visual Guidelines: Manufacturer Specifications & Model Variations (Version 5.3 [April 2025])\u2019, a 117-page document that specifies when the UCI logo can be used and in what specific locations. There are guidelines around proportions, positioning, colour order, applications, and \u2018safety distance\u2019 between logos or other design elements.\u00a0<\/p>\n This post is for paying subscribers only Already have an account? Sign in<\/a><\/p>\n Did we do a good job with this story?<\/p>\n \n \ud83d\udc4dYep![\"Iain](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Iain-Treloar-150x150.jpg\")
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