Girmay and Eritrea hit with UCI sanctions over mismatched clothing at Worlds

Biniam Girmay and Henok Mulubrhan were both penalised 500 CHF by the UCI race jury for wearing different clothing, while team director Samson Ghebregyesus was also handed a 1,000 CHF fine.

The duo made up part of a three-man Eritrean team alongside Merhawi Kudus, with both Girmay and Mulubrhan featuring in the early breakaway. All three riders would abandon before the finish.

Despite the positive nature of combative performances, the sanctions added another sour note to the Worlds for the Eritrean team, who were already missing two key riders before the race after they were unable to obtain visas. 

Girmay confirmed the situation in his pre-race interview when asked why Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier wasn’t at the start.

“Yeah, Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier and Natnael Tesfatsion, these two strong powerhouses didn’t start because they didn’t get the visa. So that’s the issue,” Girmay told Eurosport. 

The Eritrean team were not the only nation to receive sanctions following Sunday’s race. 

Remco Evenepoel was fined 500 CHF and given a 25 UCI point penalty for disposing of waste outside of the designated litter zone.

Meanwhile, Swiss team director Patrick Müller was fined 500 CHF after an unidentified rider was found to have disposed of waste outside of the litter zones in a careless and dangerous manner.

Finally, Guatemala’s Manuel Rodas received a 1,000 CHF fine, a 25 UCI point penalty and a yellow card for using a non-compliant position or point of support on his bike. 

Demi Vollering, who won the elite women's road race on Saturday, also received the same punishment as Rodas for being deemed to have used a non-compliant position or point of support on her bike.