UCI responds to Latvian open letter on sidewalk ride Van der Poel at World Championship: "Disqualification not normal sanction"

The fact that the Latvian Cycling Federation is involved in the case is unsurprising. After all, it was Latvian Toms Skujins who finished fourth on Sunday after being beaten in a sprint for bronze by... Mathieu van der Poel. A union representative went to get his story answered because why didn't the jury do anything about the fact that Van der Poel had cycled over a sidewalk with 58 kilometers to go? The Dutchman from Alpecin-Deceuninck briefly went on the sidewalk to respond to an attack by Marc Hirschi. In doing so, he skirted past some fans standing there watching.

"A hazardous race situation," Sandis Akis, president of the Latvian Cycling Federation, called it. "According to UCI rules, a rider who endangers the public on the sidewalk must be disqualified immediately. So, this is not a matter of him riding alone on the sidewalk, which usually results in a fine of 200 to 1,000 Swiss francs. Van der Poel was putting people in danger, something that did get punished with disqualification this year with Marlen Reusser in Gent-Wevelgem and with Luke Rowe in the 2018 Tour of Flanders. Van der Poel was not even fined on Sunday, even though he did not bypass a crash with his action."

The Latvians' initial concern seems to be Skujins' spot off the podium, but Akis draws the incident into a broader context, especially the UCI's reaction. "We discussed this race situation with the UCI commissioners. One stated that he had seen the situation but did not think it was dangerous enough to penalize. The Latvian Cycling Federation responded that the rules should apply to everyone, but the commissioner said it would not be good for the sport if the rules had been handled properly."

A bad thing, they say, in Latvia. "We were sent away. Some riders seem to be treated differently, especially regarding unpopular decisions. As a relatively small federation, we are very concerned about this decision. What if Van der Poel had hit a supporter? Would it have been good for the sport? We call on the UCI to apply the rules consistently to ensure the safety and integrity of cycling. We should not dismiss a potential accident like this without reaction because it would supposedly damage our reputation. We expect the UCI to explain this decision to the commissioners to avoid similar situations. If we let such things go, there is room for riders to take more risks, and that is what nobody wants."

After a while of radio silence, the UCI responded to the Latvian federation's letter. They indicate they have no intention of punishing Van der Poel yet. 'The UCI recognizes the open letter from the Latvian Cycling Federation. The panel of UCI commissioners is responsible for sporting supervision of events. In the current situation, it was determined that sanctions were not necessary. With a rulebook like this, it should be underlined that disqualification is not the standard sanction - the deduction of points and a fine - and that it happens only "in cases of significant advantage, danger, repeated violations or aggravating circumstances. This situation did not fall under the circumstances above—clear language from the International Cycling Federation.