Seven of the eight UAE Team Emirates riders competing in the Vuelta a Espana were fined 500 Swiss francs and docked 15 UCI points for wearing unauthorised jerseys at the team’s presentation in Lisbon on Thursday.
Jay Vine, who was absent from the podium ceremony, was the only Emirati rider to avoid sanctions, which the race stewards announced in a statement after the first stage on Saturday night. Clerk of the race Marco Marcato was also fined CHF 500.
The statement said the UAE riders were punished for “wearing illegal attire (not UCI-approved jerseys) during the team presentation”. [sic]”
UAE Team Emirates took to the stage at the team launch on Thursday evening wearing special edition kits with pink and yellow detailing on the chest and sleeves to celebrate Tadej Pogacar’s Giro d’Italia and Tour de France double.
Pogacar has decided not to pursue a third consecutive Grand Tour victory at the Vuelta, instead choosing to focus on preparing for the world championship road race in Zurich on September 29.
Despite Pogacar’s absence, UAE Team Emirates are set to win every Grand Tour this season and look set to repeat Jumbo-Visma’s feat from a year ago.
Joao Almeida and Adam Yates, who finished fourth and sixth overall respectively in the Tour, will lead the UAE Team Emirates line-up at the Vuelta, while exciting new professional Isaac Del Toro will also be making his Grand Tour debut.
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And although the team’s podium jersey did not pass the commissioner’s inspection, UAE Team Emirates did claim the most important piece of clothing in Stage 1, when Brandon McNulty set Oeiras’ fastest time on the time trial course, earning the red maillot.
McNulty started the second stage from Cascais with a two-second lead over Mathias Vacek (Liddle-Trek) and three seconds over dangerous Wout van Aert (Visma-Leath-A-Bike).
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