Ganna fined, Zingle disqualified: why two ‘sticky bottle’ cases led to different outcomes

The incident involving Ganna occurred midway through the race, after one of his mechanical problems. He dropped back to the Ineos team car and returned quickly to the bunch. According to race officials, he held onto assistance for too long.

Ganna and his team were fined 200 and 500 Swiss francs. No further sanctions followed. “The incident happened halfway through the race,” a jury member said to Sporza. “The sticky bottle was not race decisive.”

That explanation has not prevented comparisons with Zingle, who was removed from the E3 Saxo Classic after being seen holding onto a team car for an extended period.

The distinction comes down to how the rules are applied.

Zingle’s case fell under article 4.6 of the UCI regulations, which covers more serious infractions involving holding onto or being towed by a vehicle. This includes situations where a rider holds onto a team car, is pushed, or receives mechanical assistance from a moving vehicle. The rule is typically reserved for more prolonged or clearly unfair assistance and has been applied in high profile cases, such as Vincenzo Nibali’s well known tow at the Vuelta a España in 2015.

Ganna’s case, by contrast, was handled under article 4.11, which relates to less severe infractions such as a short “sticky bottle” moment. This rule applies to brief irregular feeding over a limited distance and usually results in a fine rather than removal from the race.

There is also a practical difference between the two situations. In Ganna’s case, there are no images of the moment. With Zingle, footage circulated widely on social media, leaving little room for interpretation and quickly drawing attention to the incident.