On the 11th stage of the Tour of Spain, the race jury handed out no fewer than seven yellow cards - on the ten previous race days, only two such warnings were handed out in total. The Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale team was hit particularly hard: riders Victor Lafay, Bruno Armirail and Geoffrey Bouchard as well as the sporting director Cyril Dessel were given yellow cards. Official explanation from the jury: "Obstruction by a rider with the aim of preventing or delaying the progress of another rider or vehicle."
Background Yellow cards in cycling
Since 1 August, yellow cards have been handed out for rule violations in cycling in a test phase that will run until the end of the year. This does not yet result in sanctions, but from next year, people who receive two yellow cards in the same race will be disqualified and banned for seven days. Six yellow cards in one year will result in a 30-day ban.
Jonathan Vaughters and Ben O'Connor speak out
Although the jury bulletin does not explicitly refer to the scene that led to the warnings, Ben O'Connor himself addressed the yellow cards in the aftermath of the stage X (formerly Twitter) again, which should make it clear why the warnings were issued.
It's about a scene that took place around 93 kilometres before the finish. Richard Carapaz from the EF Education EasyPost team set off to break away from the peloton towards the leading group that had just formed. At the same moment, the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale team spread out on the road to block the road and prevent further attacks - so-called "road blocking". Carapaz crashed during this time. It is not clear from the TV footage whether the 2021 Olympic champion's crash was caused by a rider from Ben O'Connor's team. Jonathan Vaughters, manager of the EF Education EasyPost team, has a clear opinion on the matter: "Accidents happen in cycling. We all know that. It's a tough sport. But this wasn't an accident," Vaughters wrote on X.
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Ben O'Connor's counterattack followed shortly afterwards. "Dear UCI, what dangerous manoeuvre do you think my team-mates Bouchard, Lafay and Armirail committed that deserves a yellow card? We blocked the road, as we do in every race, after the breakaway got away. We never tried to cause a crash and we never pushed anyone off the road."
O'Connor has since closed his account at X deleted. Not many arguments can be found in his defence. After all, the UCI regulations also provide penalties for this action - to be found in the UCI regulations for road races; Chapter XII; 2.12.007; 6.1 (https://assets.ctfassets.net/761l7gh5x5an/6FEzFHeA2oKMBGb5sdIvQ7/a37cf38499722031e5d4921718e45179/2-ROA-20240801-E.pdf). However, blocking the road is rarely penalised, but here it is.
Two further yellow cards went to Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Dstny) and Txomin Juaristi (Euskaltel-Euskadi) on stage 11. Reason given by the jury: "Use of a non-compliant position or a support point on the bike that poses a danger to the rider or the participants". Alexandr Shefer (sporting director at Astana Qazaqstan Team) received number seven for helping a rider from his team in an unauthorised manner.
Crash at Renewi Tour of Groenewegen and Merlier
Another incident on Wednesday that provided material for discussion was the crash in the final sprint of the Renewi Tourin which Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jayco-AlUla) and Tim Merlier (Soudal - Quick Step) crashed. Merlier steered his bike into Groenewegen's racing line on the tiger jump, then both crashed. Merlier gave his rival a dirty look and was subsequently relegated to last place in the first group by the jury.
While Soudal pro Merlier escaped the crash with abrasions, Groenewegen suffered a broken collarbone and had to end the Renewi Tour 2024 prematurely.
