The UCI has reportedly told Vincenzo Nibali he may not race until the Vuelta is over a fortnight on Sunday – three weeks after the Astana rider was thrown off the Spanish Grand Tour for holding onto a team car.
Earlier this week, the 30-year-old Sicilian told La Gazzetta dello Sport that he hoped to race in this weekend’s GP Plouay in France, as well as in the two UCI WorldTour one-day races in Quebec and Montreal next month.
But the Italian sports daily has reported today that the sport’s governing body has reiterated that under article 12.1.023, he cannot ride until the race from which he was disqualified has run its course.
– Video: Vincenzo Nibali thrown off Vuelta after being towed by team car
The ban will affect Nibali’s preparations for next month’s UCI Road World Championships, with the elite men’s road race due to take place on Sunday 27 September.
His return to racing is now scheduled for just a week and a half before that at the Coppa Agostini on Wednesday 16 September – one of four domestic one day races that national coach Davide Cassani has called on his team to ride ahead of their departure for the United States.
In the wake of his expulsion from the Giro, Nibali, who has apologised for his actions, has also deactivated his Twitter account, complaining about the abuse he received from users of the social network in the aftermath of the incident.
There are precedents for riders who fail to finish a Grand Tour taking part in another race while it is still under way – not least Mark Cavendish, who abandoned the 2011 Vuelta through illness, rode the Tour of Britain which coincided with the final week of the Spanish race, then a week later won the rainbow jersey in Copenhagen.
In order to take part in the Tour of Britain, he had to secure the permission of both the Vuelta organisers and the UCI, which was duly granted under a different section of the governing body’s rules to the one that applies in Nibali’s case, which falls under the heading of Discipline.
13 thoughts on “UCI bars Vincenzo Nibali from racing until Vuelta is over”
Harsh decision imo
Harsh decision imo
Izaak30 wrote:Harsh decision
nimo
haha
haha
team is full of drug abusers
team is full of drug abusers anyway.
Can you check your quoted
Can you check your quoted dates! =))
where’s the consistency again
where’s the consistency again with the UCI? Tom Boonen left the Giro early this year to start the Tour of Belgium and duly won stage 1.
How is doing this haphazard approach by the UCI the sport any good and helping attract sponsors?
Metjas wrote:where’s the
Boonen wasn’t booted out of the Giro though; the ban for Nibali is a disciplinary measure, due to his Benny Hill-style cheating.
Metjas wrote:where’s the
Difference between leaving of own choice or illness *(see Cavendish ref in article) vs being kicked out for cheating.
I don’t think people have an
I don’t think people have an issue with rule per se, its the inconsistent application and sanctions that are difficult to comprehend.
Three cases in order of apparent decreasing severity:
a-rider holds on to car after crash, gets towed closer to bunch and comes second on stage.
b-rider crashes, chases for 15minutes, runs out of team mates, hold on to car to get towed closer, catches bunch but is so tired he looses a minute or two on the final climb
c-rider wears national TT jersey in a TTT (which isn’t allowed)
Sanctions
a – small fine
b – chucked off race
c – fine of 4x(a) and 2x(b), a larger fine than either of the other two.
Go figure…
There must be a TLi or CTT
There must be a TLi or CTT event he can ride in the UK seeing as they aren’t affiliated. Someone invite him over to a UK village hall pronto.
I like Nibbles but he clearly
I like Nibbles but he clearly cheated.
That said the UCI seems better at banning people for misdemeanors than for drugs…..
Do the UCI rules ban riders
Do the UCI rules ban riders who have abandoned form competing or is the rule as you report “governing body has reiterated that under article 12.1.023, he cannot ride until the race from which he was disqualified has run its course”
There is a big difference between disqualification and DNF?
@langsett
When riders
@langsett
When riders abandon they are not automatically allowed to compete in other events but they may do so with the approval of both the UCI AND the organiser of the race from which they abandoned. Effectively the organiser will not block it unless they think the rider was taking the piss.
So yes there is a big difference between disqualification and withdrawal.