Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) claimed his first victory in 680 days, out-sprinting two Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale riders on the opening stage of the Tour of the Alps - but no good deed goes unpunished.
During his victory salute, Ciccone tossed his sunglasses in the air - something he's done several times in the past. He did it when he won stages of the Giro d'Italia in 2019 and 2022, and the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana in 2023, but not for his last win at the 2023 Critérium du Dauphiné when he wasn't wearing them.
This time, his signature victory salute earned him a fine as the UCI officials penalised him for "disposing of other objects in a careless manner in the finish".
The violation cost Ciccone 250 Swiss Francs and 15 UCI points - just five fewer than he earned with the stage win.
In the UCI rules, part 2.12.007 is a table of race incidents in road events, listing common occurrences such as failing to sign on, crossing the line without a bib number visible, sticky bottles, irregular feeding etc.
Ciccone's rule violation fell under part 8.3 - "Rider or team staff disposing of waste or other objects outside of litter zones, or not returned to team or organisation staff, not collected by team staff, thrown at a spectator. Disposing of waste or other objects in a careless or dangerous manner (e.g. bottle or other object remaining or bouncing back on the road, thrown directly or with excessive force at spectator, causing dangerous manoeuvre by other rider or vehicle, causing spectator to move onto the road)."
Because the Tour of the Alps is a UCI 2.1-ranked event, the maximum penalty was CHF 250 and 15 UCI pints, but a second infringement will cost him CHF 500 and 30 UCI points and could risk him being disqualified. The punishment fortunately did not involve a 'yellow card', so he won't risk a suspension for further rule violations.
Ciccone wasn't too concerned about losing his high-end eyewear to the thrill of victory.
"Not so many [pairs] here, so now I have to ask my team to give me some new pairs. But this is not a problem, the big thing is always the victory – the glasses we can find some somewhere."
