Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) swapped his purple or maroon-coloured shorts for team issue black shorts for stage 4 of the Giro d’Italia after UCI commissaires threatened to disqualify him from the race after due to conflicting interpretations of their own rules concerning leader’s jersey.
Pogačar won stage 2 on Sunday and pulled on the race leader's pink jersey. On Monday he raced in a pink upper and purple shorts as part of a skinsuit provided by race organisers RCS Sport and their clothing sponsor Castelli.
RCS Sport opted to combine the purple or ‘granata’ shorts with the pink jersey in homage to the Torino football team, who play in a maroon-coloured jersey. Saturday marked the 75th anniversary of the Superga air disaster, when a plane carrying the legendary Torino team of the time crashed near the city, killing all 31 people onboard.
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Pogačar’s combined pink and purple kit sparked debate on social media on Monday and Cyclingnews understands it also angered the UCI commissaires on the race. They called UAE Team Emirates on Monday evening and warned the team that Pogačar would be disqualified if he raced in the pink and purple skinsuit during Tuesday’s stage to Andora.
RCS Sport and people from Castelli tried to explain to the UCI commissaires that their own rules appear to allow the two-tone coloured skin suit but the race officials preferred to wait for senior officials at the UCI and perhaps even President David Lappartient to make a final decision.
“I don't know much I can say. The organisers gave us the skinsuit, so I put them on but then we got a call from the UCI saying: 'it's not allowed',” Pogačar revealed to Eurosport before the start of the stage.
Pogačar raced in team issue black shorts to avoid any punishment but missed out on the benefit of racing in a skinsuit.
“Now I have my pants but no skinsuit, so maybe today I cannot attack because I'm not fast.” Pogačar quipped.
Asked if he would attack from the start of the stage, Pogačar joked: “No, because no skinsuit, no aero.”
Castelli is convinced that the two-tone skinsuit respects the UCI rules. They shied away from combining pink shorts with the leader’s pink jersey for aesthetic reasons. Other leader’s skinsuits at the Giro d’Italia followed similar styles, with Tim Merlier racing in a two-tone cyclamen skinsuit.
RCS Sport CEO Paolo Bellino is also convinced that the pink and purple leader’s skinsuit does respect UCI rules.
"We made a pink shirt with ‘granata’ shorts, which recalls the Grande Partenza on May 4," Bellino told Eurosport.
"In my opinion, absolutely as per the rules, we have matching colours.
"It is clear that it is a little different from that of the past but in my opinion, and in Castelli's opinion, we are perfectly compliant with the regulation which talks about harmonisation and matching.”
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