Updated May 20, 2026 03:03AM
A suspect has been identified in a scandal that’s rocking the Giro d’Italia – unruly riders with bloated bladders peeing in their water bottles.
According to an expert investigation by Belgian reporters, Victor Campenaerts was one of the first to make the “pee bottle” a thing.
And judging by recent evidence from this Giro d’Italia, Campenaerts – the superdomestique of Jonas Vingegaard – is having toilet troubles.
He’s been fined a total of 400 Swiss Francs during the past week having twice been caught urinating in public.
At 35, Belgian veteran Oliver Naesen has been around long enough to know who pees in bottles and who doesn’t.
And he wasn’t withholding any allegations on Tuesday.
“I’ve known about ‘pee bottles’ since the days of Peter Sagan – he did that often,” Naesen told Sporza. “I’ve only known two who do it: Campi [Victor Campenaerts – ed] and Sagan.”
Arjen Liyvns of XDS-Astana joined Naesen in citing Campenaerts as one of the originators of the so-called “pee bottle.”
“I think he was one of the first I saw doing it,” Liyvns said Tuesday.
The testimony is damming.
A concurrent investigation by Het Nieuwsblad also points toward Visma-Lease a Bike’s top rouleur as a prime suspect with a weak bladder.
UCI officials clamp down on weak bladders
Pee-gate hit the press Sunday night after Giro d’Italia stage 9 when UCI officials issued an usual warning to the peloton – stop peeing in your bottles, darn it.
Roadside fans take these things home, remember?
“To respect the image of cycling and the Giro d’Italia, the organizer and the Commissaires’ Panel inform all riders that urinating into a bottle and subsequently discarding it is strictly prohibited,” read that evening’s jury report.
According to Quick-Step racer Dries van Gestel, this high-speed urinary solution is a phenomenon of the few.
“I don’t think it’s really a thing in the peloton, but only among some riders,” he told Sporza.
Attending to “the call of nature” during a bike race is clearly problematic, no matter what the chosen method.
Riders are sanctioned for it all season long.
As of stage 10 on Tuesday, at least six riders at the Giro d’Italia have been sanctioned for inappropriate peeing. It’s unclear whether this was for pulling over in public places or simply doing it on the move.
Naesen, Van Gestel, and Jan Christen were fined 200 CHF on stage 2 for urinating in public.
Prime suspect Campenaerts was cited and sanctioned 200 CHF on stage 3 for urinating in the neutral section, as was Maximilian Walscheid. Rasmus Pedersen was also fined that day for urinating after the flag was dropped.
Campenaerts was fined again on stage 8 for “urinating in front of the public during the race.”
Camepanerts: ‘Not guilty’
So does Campenaerts have a pee problem? A weak bladder, maybe?
Is he the cause of the Giro’s unusual warning?
According to Sporza, he was caught “in action” at the 2024 Tour de France when TV cameras caught him sticking a bottle up the inner leg of his shorts.
For now, the wiley 34-year-old is relying on the premise of “innocent until proven guilty.”
“I have no idea what this is about,” he asserted.
Be careful which bottles you collect at the Giro d’Italia
According to Van Gestel, the Giro d’Italia’s toilet troubles stem from the race’s own success.
Huge crowds showed up for the Bulgarian grande partenza, and the Italian tifosi can never get enough of the corsa rosa coming to their home town.
“They aren’t making it any easier,” Van Gestel said. “I understand that you can’t take a pee break in the city center, and you try to find places where there are no people standing.
“But on stages with good weather, people come out to watch the race. Then it is difficult to find a good spot to pee,” Van Gestel said. “Victor solved that by opening his bottle and relieving himself.”
And worst of all? It’s the tifosi who covet souvenir water bottles more than any other bike nerd.
“Everyone is jumping for them – Italian fans want our water bottles most,” Nasesen told Sporza. “I can imagine some are negatively surprised.”
The takeaway from all this?
Next time you go to a bike race, collect discarded bottles at your own peril. Especially if it’s wrapped in Visma-Lease a Bike logos.