Race leader Marlen Reusser (Movistar) was handed a yellow card, a hefty fine and docked UCI points for an action aimed at Katia Ragusa (Human Powered Health) during the finish of stage 5 of the Giro d'Italia Women on Thursday.
Reusser, who is currently wearing the pink jersey after reclaiming the race lead on stage 4, was fined and punished for "Intimidation, insults directed to a rider and behaviour that endangers others" during Thursday's sprint stage to Monselice.
The Swiss rider was fined 750 CHF (€805), docked 30 UCI points and handed a yellow card as a penalty.
The incident that led to the punishment happened in the sprint for the finish, when Reusser was sprinting on the wheel of Ragusa, and then gesticulated and shouted at the Italian as she came round her.
Regusa appeared to let a gap open up in front of her, forcing the race leader to move to close it.
In the footage of the finish, Reusser doesn't appear to make physical contact with Ragusa, but the action of lifting her arm was deemed by the jury as "intimidation" and endangering other riders, hence the punishment.
The team were clear to say that Reusser did not strike Ragusa, and the complaint did not come from her Human Powered Health team.
Movistar DS Kelvin Dekker commented on the incident via X after the stage, replying to a post from Dutch journalist Thijs Zonneveld saying that Reusser "hits" Ragusa.
"She doesn't hit. She doesn't strike. And certainly not because she drops the gap, but because she nearly knocks her off the bike at 700m with a manoeuvre. She makes a gesture of 'what are you doing'," he said.
"But Ragusa/her team had no idea there was even a movement. They were later called by the jury and had no clue what it was about. Marlen needs to keep her hands on the handlebars in the finale. Otherwise, nothing's wrong," he added.
After clarifying the details of the incident, Dekker said the team accept the punishment: "I’m not disputing that what she’s doing is good. Or that the punishment is unjust."
Though Reusser was punished under a rule about intimidation, it is true that the UCI commissaires have been cracking down on unsafe riding in sprint finishes, particularly concerning riders taking their hands off the bars in such situations. For example, riders can now be punished if they sit up to celebrate a teammate's victory during a sprint finish.
This is the second time Movistar have faced a fine in a Grand Tour this year, after the entire team was punished during a messy stage 1 of the Vuelta Femenina in May, when a series of delays to bike checks saw some teams miss their team time trial start time.
As Reusser didn't receive any time penalties or classification deductions, she still leads the Giro d'Italia Women with three stages remaining, but with a yellow card by her name, she is at risk of disqualification and suspension if she receives another in the coming days.
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