After a tribulation duration all through the latter a part of the 2024 season, the UCI has formally applied a brand new device of punishments for protection rule infractions, and the primary of the ‘yellow card’ consequences used to be given to Anna Badegruber all through level 2 of the ladies’s Santos Excursion Down Beneath.
The brand new scheme provides warnings to the standard fines given out to riders and groups for incidents reminiscent of sticky bottles, bad using or using and extra. All over the trial duration, Barbara Guarischi (SD Worx-Protime) earned the primary yellow card for sitting up all through a Excursion de France Femmes bunch dash. Much more had been passed out all through the Vuelta a España, however didn’t lead to suspensions.
Alternatively, ranging from January 1 this 12 months, suspensions will probably be passed out for individuals who earn a couple of yellow playing cards.
Badegruber used to be fined CHF 200 and given a yellow card for passing the peloton too intently after her staff chief used to be concerned with a crash.
“If the commissaries decided it was too dangerous and I deserve a yellow card for that, then that’s how it is, and we will move on from that. But obviously, you don’t want to get a second one in the same event, because then you’re out. For that reason, I do believe it needs to be really clear what incidents you will get a yellow card from.”
If a person will get two yellow playing cards in the similar race, they’re going to be ejected from the development and suspended for seven days, and that used to be a priority for Badegruber, who had Mie Bjørndal Ottestad mendacity in 3rd position within the general classification forward of the overall level.
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There used to be a consensus between 4 girls’s staff administrators that the yellow card may well be helpful in making improvements to protection for the riders, however there’s scepticism and fear that the UCI won’t be able to make sure that yellow playing cards are passed out in a good or even way.
All over the outlet level, one staff mechanic used to be noticed on tv putting out of the staff automotive to offer help to a rider – an act that carries a extra serious punishment than Badegruber’s shut cross – however the staff used to be no longer sanctioned. Mechanical the help of a transferring automotive too can lead to a yellow card, however too can lead to disqualification of the rider and a 100 UCI level penalty plus a CHF 500 fantastic.
She additionally identified that the race jury wishes to look the offence earlier than issuing a yellow card, and there are many incidents that may occur out in their view.
“As long as it’s fair and everybody gets the same treatment, then that’s just how it is. Everything needs to be seen. Because if a team gets yellow cards and the director is out, but then other teams do the same thing and it’s not seen … but that’s everywhere. In soccer, they fall sometimes, when somebody gets a red card and the other doesn’t. It’s hard to say if it’s good or not. We will see. Maybe it makes behaviour in the pack a little bit better. I don’t know, we’ll see how it plays out.”
Along with the yellow playing cards, the UCI rolled out a brand new rule the place riders will also be punished for sitting as much as rejoice all through a host dash, preventing pedalling or another way inflicting a danger within the finales.
Human Powered Well being sports activities director Giorgia Bronzini used to be involved in regards to the software of that rule.
“I think it is good that they can analyse case by case because I think sometimes some things can impact the results and the safeness of the rider really badly. In other cases, I don’t know, let’s say there are five riders coming to the sprint, and one led out the teammate and stopped pedalling. There isn’t any consequence in the end, because there is no big bunch. In that case, if they wouldn’t say yellow card just because these riders stopped pedalling in a lead-out, I don’t think this is a case to give [a yellow card] – it doesn’t mean anything.
“In a different way, I feel the riders will pay extra consideration within the finale and consider protection and no longer with regards to effects. And I feel [this] is a great schooling.”
Race parcours a bigger concern for riders
Safety has become a major issue for professional cycling over the past decade, especially after the crash of Fabio Jakobsen during the Tour de Pologne which was made much worse by the barrier coming loose and flying into the sprinting peloton.
The deaths of Gino Mäder at the Tour de Suisse in 2023 and Muriel Furrer during the UCI Road World Championships last year, and the massive crash that left Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard fearing for his life during the Itzulia Basque Country last season only further emphasised the need for measures to improve safety.
An analysis of the UCI’s SafeR project database of incidents found that 35% of race incidents were unprovoked rider errors. However, the announcement failed to say what percentage of incidents were due to course design or infrastructure.
Rider error does, however, lead to a significant portion of crashes, but the women’s directors were not sure whether the yellow cards would improve safety for the riders or not.
“Till we see [the yellow cards] in observe, it is exhausting so that you can see if it is made an affect at the protection. After all, we are hoping any measure that we will see within the game to make it more secure [will help], as a result of that are meant to be a concern,” said Canyon-SRAM zondocrypto sports director Beth Duryea.
“There are such a lot of other sides of protection – you have to cross from the beginning right here till the end, and principally, each and every unmarried factor in between, even the preparation for races. It is exhausting to mention it is [about] behaviour. Generally, the entirety we will do for all of the ones sides, the extra that we will make issues more secure, regardless if it is within the race, out of the race, or all through preparation for a race – all types of issues may have an affect.”
Although the UCI is starting to work more closely with race organisers to ensure courses are safe and the barrier designs aren’t a hazard for the riders, Teutenberg and Bronzini agreed that more needs to be done to make courses safer.
“Infrequently race organisations put a velocity stumble upon the end directly,” Teutenberg said. “I imply, that is simply silly, you recognize. I feel numerous races are secure, some races don’t seem to be secure. We fill out some questionnaires on the UCI, and I believe like from time to time they don’t seem to be learn. Some races stay getting standing the place I feel they’re most definitely no longer the most secure.”
Bronzini agreed, pronouncing “Infrequently, it isn’t with regards to the women’ habits, however how the parcours is made. And from time to time within the girls’s races and likewise the lads’s, now we have noticed bad corners with 200 to move, and that are meant to be have shyed away from.
“I think the UCI also can check a little bit better with the organisation how the finale is set up and which barrier the organisation has in their hands also makes a difference.”
All the administrators stated that time and again, the riders’ protection is in their very own palms.
“Everybody has a brake, and a lot of crashes happen because people are not using their brakes,” Teutenberg mentioned.
