Fines and time penalties Giro d'Italia 2025 | Fine for Verona, reprimand for several team directors

There are different types of violations in the cycling peloton. These include sticky bottles, improper waste disposal, urinating in full view of the public, accepting food in the race's final stages, dangerous riding, drafting behind a car, verbal abuse, physical contact with an opponent, and so on. The jury can impose penalties in various ways, ranging from a warning (e.g., a yellow card) to disqualification.

Carlos Verona (Lidl-Trek) received a fine of 200 Swiss francs for urinating in public, while three team directors were reprimanded for hanging out of the car window: Fabio Baldato (UAE), Alexander Shefer (Astana), and Maximilian Sciandri of Movistar.

Only Matteo Moschetti was sanctioned for obstructing Olav Kooij in the final sprint. The Q36.5 rider received a 500 Swiss franc fine and lost 13 points in the points classification.

Stage 5, Wednesday, May 14: Ceglie Messapica - Matera (151 kilometers)

A first: not a single rider, sports director, or motorcyclist committed a violation in the difficult fifth stage of the Giro d'Italia. After the fourth stage, full of fines, the organization reported nulla da segnalare: nothing to report.  

A small correction from the jury regarding Sunday: it was not Darren Rafferty but Kasper Asgreen (EF Education EasyPost) who was penalized for tossing a bidon. He receives a 500 Swiss franc fine, a deduction of 25 UCI points, and a yellow card. No bottle tossers in stage 4, but there were nature breaks in the wrong spots. Quinten Hermans (Alpecin Deceuninck), Jan Maas (Cofidis), and Milan Vader (Q36.5) were each fined 200 francs for public urination.

Picnic celebrated Casper van Uden's stage win, but his lead-out man, Bram Welten, wasn't so lucky. According to the jury's verdict, he slowed down during the sprint and endangered others; the penalty was a yellow card. There was good news for Italian Lorenzo Germani of Groupama-FDJ, who suffered a flat tire in the last 5 kilometers of the stage but was given the same time as the winner by the jury.

The most important and most remarkable penalty was for Max Kanter of XDS Astana. The German finished fifth in the sprint but was quickly relegated for a shoulder push on Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek). Kanter was also fined 500 francs, deducted 13 points in the points classification, and given a yellow card. Astana responded fiercely in an official statement via sports director Alexandr Shefer: "In our view, Max sprinted safely and in line with the actions of other riders in the group."

"Relegation and a yellow card is way too much," the statement continued. "If we begin to penalize such moments, then we also need to start evaluating rider behavior not only in the final meters but throughout the last 10 or 5 kilometers. Today this happened to our team, tomorrow it could be any other. It’s disappointing news for us."

Once again, a Bardiani rider has crossed the line. This time, it was Martin Marcellusi. The Italian used his shoulders a bit too aggressively in the run-up to the sprint and was penalized. A costly mistake — he initially finished eighth in the sprint but was relegated to the last place in his group (85th). In addition, he received a yellow card, a fine of 500 Swiss francs, and a deduction of seven points in the points classification.

Two riders carelessly tossed their bottles during the stage, causing them to bounce back onto the road. Darren Rafferty (EF Education-EasyPost) and Ben Turner (INEOS Grenadiers) were each fined 500 Swiss francs and lost 25 UCI points. Rafferty even received a yellow card for the incident.

And we’re not done yet: Arnaud Gérard (staff member at Arkéa-B&B Hotels) handed out supplies outside of the designated feed zone and, as a result, he was also mentioned in the jury's communications. The Frenchman must pay a 500 Swiss franc fine. Finally, Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), who was active in the breakaway during this stage, has received a warning pertaining to his riding position.

Almost no riders broke the rules on day 2 of the Giro d’Italia, but the jury definitely had their hands full with the team cars following behind. Alexandr Shefer (XDS Astana) was fined 500 Swiss francs for not stopping when his rider was being overtaken, while Roberto Reverberi (Bardiani) received the same fine for an improper departure at the finish.

The only rider mentioned in the jury report is Enrico Zanoncello, also from Bardiani. The Italian failed to maintain the required distance from the rider ahead of him (in other words, he likely caught a bit of a draft from someone overtaking) and was issued a warning.

On the first day, the jury had to intervene several times. For example, number 4 in the day's results, Francesco Busatto (Intermarché-Wanty), was accused of an 'irregular sprint.' The 22-year-old Italian, who also wears the white youth jersey thanks to his result, is accused of hitting two riders in the sprint with his elbow and his head. He was only given a yellow card and was not disqualified, allowing him to keep his stage result and white jersey.

At Bahrain Victorious, sports director Gorazd Stangelj was the first to be penalized for failing to comply with the rules applicable to team cars. As the person ultimately responsible for car 218, Stangelj was fined 500 Swiss francs, or 534.50 euros.