Disorder Erupts at Giro d’Italia

UCI commissaires made hay on Wednesday at the Giro d’Italia Women.

Two riders were disqualified and six were fined on an explosive and disorderly 5th stage won by Demi Vollering.

Conti-level riders Argyro Milaki (Aromitalia Vaiano) and Anita Baima (Isolmat-Premac-Vittoria) became the second and third athletes to be booted from the race after they were caught holding on to team cars.

They were also fined 200 CHF, docked 50 UCI points, and whacked with yellow cards.

Baima’s DS was also ejected from the race.

The UCI allows little leeway to riders caught holding vehicles during a race. Unlike with “sticky bottles,” riders are automatically DQ’d for taking a direct tow.

Mikali and Baima’s expulsions come just days after Lorena Wiebes was controversially thrown off the race while wearing the leader’s jersey Saturday night.

Officials ruled the Dutch super-speedster rode a bike that was just 20g under the weight limit when she won the opening stage.

Direct disqualifications are rare in WorldTour bike racing, making the severity of Wiebes’ sanction particularly striking.

Wiebes’ managers at SD Worx-Protime publicly questioned the accuracy of the UCI’s measurements and are considering legal action.

More pee problems at the Giro d’Italia

The second batch of penalties issued on Wednesday was also eye-catching.

The pee-gate scandal that rippled through the men’s Giro d’Italia trickled across to the women’s race Wednesday.

Six riders were each fined 100 CHF for “urinating in public and damaging the image of the sport.”

The problem of taking a “comfort break” in the frenzy of a bike race was thrown into the spotlight last month at the men’s Giro d’Italia.

The UCI warned the peloton to stop peeing in their water bottles, leaving grizzled directors laughing and the public wondering who dunnit.

Victor Campenaerts soon ‘fessed up and was supported by teammates Jonas Vingegaard and Sepp Kuss for his use of his bidons.

Six riders from just three teams were caught short on Wednesday at the Giro d’Italia Women.

Niamh Fisher-Black, Elisa Balsamo, Isabella Holmgren (Lidl-Trek), Célia Gery, Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez), and Silke Smulders (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) were sanctioned for their mid-race toilet breaks.

Intriguingly, commissaires also fined two riders at the Giro Women on Monday for “undressing or urinating in public” in the start-finish areas of stage 3.

Holding on to a team car is unacceptable and deserves strict punishment.

Being sanctioned for taking an emergency pee in a bush during a long race seems harsh.

Getting disqualified for riding a bike less than one percent under the weight limit? Don’t get us started.

But rules are rules.