Giro d'Italia Women 2026 **SPOILERS**

[Gweeds]

If I’m Wiebes’s team I’m asking the UCI for the calibration certs for the machine they used as a starting point. I only realised earlier that she’s DQ’d from the entire race and not just the stage. Which is farking mental. That’s the weight of a shot of coffee.

 

[M.R.M]

I think the punishment of Wiebes is excessive. Why not relegate her to last place and let her continue riding the Giro?

 

[misforturob]

I think the punishment of Wiebes is excessive. Why not relegate her to last place and let her continue riding the Giro?

Because the rulebook says the penalty is disqualification

 

[mididoctors]

I think the punishment of Wiebes is excessive. Why not relegate her to last place and let her continue riding the Giro?

Think the regs are pretty rigid . It's a DQ.

 

[Milzy]

The best part of the men’s giro was when they were eating haribo sweets from a car on stage 21.

 

[mididoctors]

Stage 3 Bibione - Buja 156km

Some challenges nearer the finish. Expect the last 30 -50 km to be active racing . Uphill finish for the punchers mixes it up.

 

[matticus]

The absence of Wiebes has, I suppose added a bit of jeopardy to the numerous sprint finishes.

I'm no expert on these things but my feel is that disqualification is extreme. Relegation would have been more suitable in my book. But I know nothing about these things, unlike the commissaires who are always a model of consistency.

It's easy to say "rules are rules" but in cycling, they often aren't because the commissaires have so much latitude to ignore rules if they feel like it and if not, to pull sanctions out of their arses.

When these things happen I'm always reminded of Wout van Aert on his way to winning E3 in 2023 having his chain lubricated by a mechanic hanging out of a car, in exact, word-for-word, contravention of a rule (2.3.030) introduced with much fanfare in 2015. It wasn't even an obscure old rule, I called it out as it happened and I'm an ignoramus. No action was taken. That was just a week after Kristen Faulkner was DSQ from Strade Bianchi for wearing a glucose monitor that wasn't connected to anything.

Agree totally. bike racing - and particularly UCI-run bike-racing - is full of discretion.
Although I like the idea of a "hard" rule - where the team MUST make sure the bikes are OVERweight or risk sanction - in a sprint finish this is a negligible advantage, and the penalty is totally outwith the spirit of the rule.

The comment "added a bit of jeopardy to the numerous sprint finishes" sounds like it may be quite key ...

 

[M.R.M]

Because the rulebook says the penalty is disqualification

Think the regs are pretty rigid . It's a DQ.

I'm aware it's the rule. The point I was trying to make is, the punishment for the infraction is too severe. Relegation to last place would be sufficient.
Even for GC riders. Any such infraction on non sprint stages would effectively end GC for a GC rider.
For sprinters it would cost them the stage win and valuable points for the points classification.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I suppose it's just a case of accepting it and moving on. I just have a nagging doubt that I'd trust SDworx to get it right more than I'd trust the UCI or whoever their agents are. Let it go, let it goo....

In other news everyone's favourite bonkers dancer and breakaway boss Alison Jackson is in the break today, which looks stronger than the previous 2 days, if just as doomed

 

[misforturob]

I suppose it's just a case of accepting it and moving on. I just have a nagging doubt that I'd trust SDworx to get it right more than I'd trust the UCI or whoever their agents are. Let it go, let it goo....

In other news everyone's favourite bonkers dancer and breakaway boss Alison Jackson is in the break today, which looks stronger than the previous 2 days, if just as doomed

There is a theory I saw on the internetz that they put a 1x setup on Wiebes's bike for that stage (which will be lighter than 2x) and forgot to recalibrate it for the minimum weight

 

[mididoctors]

I'm aware it's the rule. The point I was trying to make is, the punishment for the infraction is too severe. Relegation to last place would be sufficient.
Even for GC riders. Any such infraction on non sprint stages would effectively end GC for a GC rider.
For sprinters it would cost them the stage win and valuable points for the points classification.

I kinda agree ....the UCI scales oked her to start

 

[mididoctors]

There is a theory I saw on the internetz that they put a 1x setup on Wiebes's bike for that stage (which will be lighter than 2x) and forgot to recalibrate it for the minimum weight

One theory I heard was she ran a tighter cassette on a flat stage .no dinner plate bail.out gear

 

[mididoctors]

I suppose it's just a case of accepting it and moving on. I just have a nagging doubt that I'd trust SDworx to get it right more than I'd trust the UCI or whoever their agents are. Let it go, let it goo....

In other news everyone's favourite bonkers dancer and breakaway boss Alison Jackson is in the break today, which looks stronger than the previous 2 days, if just as doomed

Three getting caught 45 secs

 

[Dogtrousers]

Three getting caught 45 secs

Doomed I tell ye. Doomed!

 

[mididoctors]

Ouff nasty off ... Some shouting at each other