Sports directors hit with 10,000 CHF in fines following Dauphiné team time trial

Jayco AlUla sports director Mathew Hayman and TotalEnergies sports director Benoit Genauzeau were both handed fines of 3,500 CHF after their teams’ bicycles were not presented for inspection at least 15 minutes before their scheduled start time in the stage 3 team time trial.

Mario Aerts, sports director of Lotto Intermarché, received a 3,000 CHF fine for a similar breach, with the commissaires’ report stating that equipment had not been presented at least 10 minutes before the team’s start.

The fines do not suggest that any of the equipment was illegal, but rather they point to a procedural breach before one of the most tightly-controlled disciplines in the sport. 

Under UCI road regulations for team time trials, riders must present themselves with their equipment at the bike check area no later than 15 minutes before their team’s scheduled start. That check is mandatory and must be passed before a rider is allowed to start.

The size of the fines reflects the UCI sanctions table, which lists a 500 CHF penalty per rider involved for both the rider and the sports director when bicycles or equipment are not presented for time trial checks within the required window.

That explains why Hayman and Genauzeau were each fined 3,500 CHF, corresponding to seven riders at 500 CHF each. Aerts’ fine was lower, at 3,000 CHF, because Lotto Intermarché had only six riders left in the race at the time.

Although the combined total is substantial, it is not the highest penalty recorded this season. 

That remains the 5,000 CHF fine initially issued to Tadej Pogacar after Liège-Bastogne-Liège over alleged incorrect sponsor placement on his world champion’s jersey. That case was later withdrawn after it emerged that the issue was related to branding near the wrists and thus the updated clothing rules had not been applied correctly.