€10,000 in fines at Auvergne's TTT
Tuesday's team time trial at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes turned out to be costly for some teams in more ways than one, and presents a small lesson before the opening TTT at July's Tour de France. Not only did Jayco-AlUla, Lotto-Intermarché and TotalEnergies lose time, but all three teams were handed hefty fines by the UCI for breaking technical rules around bike inspections.
Fines of 3,000-3,500 CHF were assessed against each team after directors failed to present team bikes for technical inspection in the allotted window. At time trials, riders must present their bikes to commissaires for inspection at least 15 minutes from the start, and once the bikes are inspected, they can't leave the start area. The UCI rulebook lists fines of €500 per rider, which is why the fines were so large for a team time trial.
