Philippe Gilbert backs Mathieu van der Poel’s Tour de Suisse fine: ‘He had plenty of time to put a jersey on’
Philippe Gilbert has defended the decision to fine Mathieu van der Poel after the Dutchman spent much of his long wait in the Tour de Suisse hotseat with his upper body exposed.
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Van der Poel was handed a 500 Swiss franc penalty by the race jury for “inappropriate attire while on the hotseat” following the stage 4 individual time trial.
The Alpecin-Premier Tech rider had pulled the top half of his skinsuit down after completing the 23.7 kilometre course in Aarburg, where temperatures reached around 33 degrees.
His attempt to cool down became one of the defining images of the stage as television cameras repeatedly returned to the provisional leader.
Van der Poel had stopped the clock at 26 minutes and 38 seconds after starting 74th. His time survived every challenge until race leader Tadej Pogačar, the final rider on the course, beat him by just 0.04 seconds.
It denied Van der Poel what would have been the first individual time trial victory of his professional road career.
The narrow defeat was followed by another disappointment when officials confirmed his fine after the stage.
Gilbert says Van der Poel had time to put on a jersey
The penalty was discussed on Belgian cycling programme Dans Le Peloton, where former world champion Philippe Gilbert argued that the fine was justified despite the extreme heat.
“There are two different things,” Gilbert said. “A rider who crosses the finish line and takes his jersey off for a moment to put on something dry is one thing.
“But Van der Poel stayed on the hotseat for at least half an hour. He had plenty of time to put on a jersey.”
Gilbert also highlighted the commercial value of the hotseat. The provisional leader receives extensive live television coverage while waiting for the remaining riders to finish, creating a valuable opportunity for the team and its sponsors.
“There are teams that dream of being in a situation where they are live on television in front of millions of people,” Gilbert said.
“So the sponsors also lost visibility. And the image is not great. Sitting there with no shirt on is not ideal.”
The Belgian said teams throughout his own career had paid close attention to how riders appeared in photographs and television coverage.
“In the different teams I rode for, it was always viewed badly when images appeared of a rider who was not properly dressed,” he added.
Hotseat also serves practical purpose
Gilbert also explained that the hotseat is not simply a television feature. A provisional winner may be required to attend the podium ceremony or provide a sample for an anti-doping control.
A chaperone can accompany the rider from the moment he finishes until the required procedures have been completed.
“As long as you are on the hotseat, you are the potential winner,” Gilbert said. “The winner has to remain with a chaperone.
“If you give the rider the freedom to return to the bus or the hotel, it becomes complicated to follow him and ask him to come back for the podium.”
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