Vuelta a España 2026 jury report - Carapaz docked 25 UCI points and fined on stage 20

The UCI regulates the Vuelta a España and issues penalties for rule violations - from feeding outside designated zones to physical altercations. Infractions are published daily in an evening bulletin, listing riders and staff who were sanctioned.

Penalties range from fines to time losses and UCI point deductions, depending on severity. A recent addition is the yellow card system, introduced to address dangerous or unsporting behaviour in the peloton.

A full overview of yellow cards and rules can be found here.

On stage 21, the jury made one decision.

Alex Sans Vega, sports director at Pinarello-Q36.5, was fined 500 Swiss francs for disposing of waste or another object outside a designated litter zone.

On stage 20, the jury made three decisions.

Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) was fined 500 Swiss francs and deducted 25 UCI points after stage 20 of the Vuelta a España for disposing of waste outside a designated litter zone.

The Ecuadorian started the day fourth overall. The deduction applies to his UCI ranking rather than to his position in the race.

Iván Millán Santiago, a mechanic at Netcompany-Ineos, was fined 500 Swiss francs and shown a yellow card for leaning out of a vehicle or holding equipment outside one. Frederik Willems, sport director at Alpecin-Premier Tech, was fined the same amount for breaching the guidelines on vehicle movements during the race and failing to comply with the organisers' instructions.

It is the second yellow card issued to Netcompany-Ineos staff in three days. Driver Scott Drawer received one after the stage 18 time trial in Jerez for a vehicle offence.

On Stage 19, the jury issued sanctions for vehicle movement infractions and an illegal riding position.

Bastien Tronchon (Groupama-FDJ United) was issued a yellow card for using a non-compliant position or point of support on the bicycle that represented a danger to the rider or competitors (UCI Art. 2.12.007-7.9).

Two sports directors, Mikel Ezkieta (Equipo Kern Pharma) and Marco Marcato (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), were fined 500 CHF each for breaching guidelines concerning vehicle movements during the race and failing to comply with instructions from the commissaires.

TV motorbike pilot Francisco Marín Doblas was fined 500 CHF and shown a yellow card for breaching vehicle movement guidelines (UCI Art. 2.12.007-6.3).

In the fight against technological fraud, 46 bikes were inspected following the stage, including 8 checked via X-ray, with all bicycles found to be fully compliant with UCI regulations.

On Stage 18, the jury made one decision.

Scott Drawer, a driver for Netcompany-Ineos, was fined 500CHF and shown a yellow card after stage 18 of the Vuelta a España for breaching the regulations and guidelines on vehicle movements during the race.

On stage 17, the jury made four decisions. 

Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step) was fined CHF 200 for irregular feeding after receiving supplies from the team car in an official feed zone. Sports director Tom Steels was handed an additional CHF 500 fine for the same incident.

Enzo Paleni (Groupama-FDJ United) received a warning for using a non-compliant position or point of support on his bicycle that was deemed dangerous to himself or other riders.

The jury also confirmed that riders involved in an incident inside the final five kilometres would be credited with the time of the group they were riding with at the moment of the incident.

No incidents were noted by the commissaires.

On stage 15, the jury made three decisions. 

Primož Roglič was fined 200CHF after stage 15 of the Vuelta a España for irregular feeding, the commissaires citing a sticky bottle over a short distance.

His Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe sport director Sven Vanthourenhout was fined 500CHF for breaching the guidelines on vehicle movement during the race. Juan Manuel González Álvarez, the driver of a television motorbike, received the same penalty for the same offence.

The jury also confirmed that the exemption on feeding rules will apply to stages 16 and 17. Teams may feed along the entire route and from the team car, though feeding from the car remains prohibited inside the signposted feed zone. The same measure was granted for stages 14 and 15 after the extreme heat of the second week.

Sunday's stage was itself cut from 189.7 kilometres to 110.2 under the extreme weather protocol, with 79.5 kilometres removed from the middle of the route and temperatures around 40 degrees at the start.

Thirty-five bikes were checked for technological fraud on Sunday, ten of them by X-ray. All complied with UCI regulations.

The jury made one decision.

Victor Girona Villalba (Uno-X Mobility mechanic) was given a yellow card for a breach of Article 2.3.025 concerning non-compliance by a team assistant during feeding.

No incidents were noted by the commissaires.

The jury made thirteen decisions.

Rémy Rochas (Groupama-FDJ United), Hugo Houle (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Marco Brenner (Tudor) and Christopher Hamilton (Picnic PostNL) were each fined 200 CHF for irregular feeding. 

Meanwhile sports directors Jens Keukeleire (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Bart Leysen (Tudor), Benoit Vaugrenard (Groupama-FDJ United) and Phil West (Picnic PostNL) were each fined 500 CHF for irregular feeding after a team car fed a rider in a feed zone signposted by the organiser.

Enric Mas (Movistar), Raul Garcia Pierna (Movistar), Jakub Omrzel (Bahrain Victorious), Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) and Jarno Widar (Lotto-Intermarché) were each fined 500 CHF and received 25 UCI points for disposing of waste outside the designated litter zones.

The jury made five decisions.

Sports directors Niki Terpstra (Soudal Quick-Step) and Gino Van Oudenhove (Uno-X Mobility) were each fined 500 CHF for irregular feeding.

Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal Quick-Step) and Rasmus Tiller (Uno-X Mobility) were each fined 200 CHF for irregular feeding.

Sports director Ken Vanmarcke (EF Education-EasyPost) received a yellow card for failing to respect the guidelines concerning vehicle movements during the race.

No incidents were noted by the commissaires.

The jury made two decisions.

Sports director Marco Marcato (UAE Team Emirates XRG) was fined 500 CHF for irregular feeding.

Sports director Rafael Valls Ferri (Team Jayco AlUla) was fined 200 CHF for failing to respect the instructions of the commissaires.

The jury made two decisions.

Riders affected by an incident in the final 5 kilometers were credited with the time of the group they were riding with at the moment of the incident.

Sports director Sven Vanthourenhout (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) was fined 500 CHF for disposing of waste outside the designated litter zones.

The jury made five decisions.

Sports directors Cyril Dessel (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Jonathan McCarty (NSN Cycling Team) were each fined 500 CHF for irregular feeding from a team car in a designated feed zone.

Alexey Lutsenko (NSN Cycling Team), Lorenzo Fortunato and Henok Mulubrhan (XDS Astana Team) were each fined 200 CHF for irregular feeding, while XDS Astana sports director Alexandr Shefer received a 500 CHF fine for the same offence.

No incidents were noted by the commissaires.

The jury made three decisions.

Alexey Lutsenko (NSN) received a yellow card for deviating from his chosen line and endangering another rider during the final sprint with an elbow.

Orluis Alberto Aular Sanabria (Movistar) was fined 500 CHF, deducted 8 points in the points classification, relegated and handed a yellow card for deviating from his line, obstructing and endangering another rider during the final sprint with an elbow.

Sports director Sven Vanthourenhout (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) was fined 500 CHF for disposing of waste outside the designated litter zones.

No incidents were noted by the commissaires.

No incidents were noted by the commissaires.

No incidents were noted by the commissaires.

No incidents were noted by the commissaires.