Officials remove hefty fine initially handed down for personal sponsor, reason given for penalty was 'wrong place of the publicity on the world champion jersey during the award ceremony'
Tadej Pogačar celebrates on the podium after winning a fourth Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2026(Image credit: Getty Images)
Tadej Pogačar's victory celebrations were cut short at Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday after the race jury handed him a hefty fine of 5000 CHF shortly after the podium presentation. The fine was outlined in the official race communique directly following the event on Sunday.
However, the fine was later removed with the World Champion's team, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, telling La Gazzetta dello Sportthat it had been revoked.
The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider initially was said to have violated Article 1.3.072.6: World Champion Equipment for the "wrong place of the publicity on the world champion jersey during the award ceremony," according to the official race communique.
The fine may have been in relation to the addition of a personal sponsor, watchmaker Richard Mille, to the sleeve of Pogačar's long-sleeve podium jersey.
However, the world champion has been wearing the jersey with this logo all year.
According to Sporza, the UCI previously prohibited additions to standard jerseys but have since relaxed their regulations. The UCI officials at Liège-Bastogne-Liège later acknowledged their error and the fine was removed.
There doesn't seem to be any provision in the UCI rules for sponsors on the wrist of a jersey, and the maximum fine (rule (1.3.072) for non-compliant advertising on jerseys is typically CHF 2,100.
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The Richard Mille logo can be seen below the rainbow bands on the forearm in this Tour of Flanders podium image (Image credit: SWPix.com)
The Frenchman hung on for second place while Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) won the chase-group sprint for third. The three riders celebrated their successes on the podium.
At the time the initial race communique noted the fine, it was unclear what the specific issue was with his jersey, as Pogačar had worn it on other podiums this year. The race jury and the UCI had offered no other explanation at the time of writing.
Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2026 official race communique / communique du jury des commissaires (Image credit: Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2026 official race communique)
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