After the first stage of the Giro d'Italia Women ended with the shocking revelation that stage winner Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) had been disqualified from the entire race after her bike was weighed and found to be under the UCI's limit of 6.8 kilograms, the first maglia rosa and stage honours were transferred to Italian Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) as a result.
The controversy dwarfed stage 2, which Balsamo won in a bunch sprint.
There were no more major penalties on stage 2.
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"Of course, it is not the way I want to win but this is a decision of the jury," Balsamo said in a statement after the jury's decision.
"In any case, it’s an honour to wear the maglia rosa and I am looking forward to trying to defend it in tomorrow’s stage."
It is exceedingly rare for riders to fall foul of the UCI's rule that limits how light riders' bikes can be. Since the rule came into play, we can find only two other incidents: Fabiana Luperini was disqualified on stage 6 of the Giro in 2013, and Neve Bradbury at the New Zealand National Championships in 2019.
Riders have complained that the rule disproportionately punishes smaller, lighter riders who use smaller framesets that naturally weigh less. Both Luperini and Bradbury are light climbers, while Wiebes is not the smallest rider in the bunch.
SD Worx-Protime ride Specialized bikes, with the Dutch champion typically using the S-Works Tarmac SL8 - the company's lightweight carbon frame, with Shimano Di2 components and wheels.
Wiebes appeared to be riding either the Rapide CLX III or Rapide Sprint wheelsets and the carbon fibre Roval Rapide cockpit - a setup that could be easily made even lighter with Alpinist wheels, which weigh 200g to 400g less.
The UCI set the weight limit way back in 2000, when building a bike under 7kg entailed fabricating special components.
Now that carbon fibre technology and 3D printing have advanced the industry, it is so easy to build a bike near that limit that small riders can't take advantage of the lightweight gear that larger riders can.
The rule was already outdated in 2003, when the riders of the Saeco team at the Giro d'Italia donned prison stripe-themed 'Legalise my Cannondale' kits to protest the rule. But 23 years later, the regulation remains in place.
With hours of racing every day for nine days, the Grand Tours often see multiple penalties handed out, which are all listed in the race jury's communiqué after each stage.
These can be for things as simple as dropping litter outside of the designated zone, or as serious as riding dangerously in a sprint. Punishments can range from small fines and point or time deductions to yellow cards or in very serious cases, disqualification.
Penalties can be given to riders and staff alike, and to other members of the race convoy, though here we will just track riders and team staff.
Yellow cards can also be handed out alongside penalties, and if you get more than one in the same race, you are disqualified and suspended for seven days. Three in 30 days equals a 14 day suspension, and six in a year means a 30-day suspension.
Here is our list of all the penalties incurred during this year's Giro d'Italia Women.
Giro d'Italia Women 2026 penalties
Stage 1
- Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-ProTime) - DSQ, bike under UCI weight limit
- Danny Stam (SD Worx-ProTime) - 500CHF, bike under UCI weight limit
Stage 2
- Davide Gani (Picnic-PostNL DS) - 500CHF for failing to follow commissaires' instructions
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