Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) was fined 500 Swiss Francs and docked 15 UCI factors for resting his forearms on his handlebars within the finale of stage 5 of the Vuelta a San Juan to Alto Colorado.
Per UCI laws, the sanction for “utilizing a non-compliant place or level of assist on the bicycle” can embrace disqualification, with Marianne Vos a high-profile sufferer of that rule at Postnord Vårgårda final 12 months.
Ganna has not been disqualified from the Vuelta a San Juan, and because the offence doesn’t carry a time penalty, he stays second total, 30 seconds behind race chief Miguel Ángel López (Medellín-EPM).
“Following yesterday’s stage, the UCI made me conscious that I had ridden in an unlawful place by resting my forearms on the handlebars,” Ganna wrote in a publish on social media.
“Throughout that second of the race I used to be actually pushing my limits and momentarily misplaced focus. I settle for the penalty given by the UCI Commissaire, and as ever I respect that we should all abide by the UCI laws.”
Ganna is on the right track to complete on the rostrum of the Vuelta a San Juan for the second time after his spectacular show on the pivotal mountaintop end at Alto Colorado on Friday. He was the strongest of the chasers behind the rampant López, coming residence 30 seconds down in second place.
Whereas Ganna is on the right track to repeat his second-place end of 2020, there was disappointment for his Ineos teammate Egan Bernal, who was pressured to desert the Vuelta a San Juan within the opening kilometres of stage 6, citing knee ache sustained in a crash on the opening day.
Bernal had himself carried out strongly on the Alto Colorado, coming residence in fourth place to safe his finest consequence since his life-threatening coaching crash in January of final 12 months.
