My latest piece for cyclingnews.com is online to read. This time it’s the subject of fines. Every evening the Tour de France puts out an official communiqué with the full results and classification for the day but this also includes a medical bulletin of the riders who visited the race doctor during the stage as well as a list of any riders, team staff and others on the race who were fined for the day.
The list of fines varies, it’s usually small infractions like “urinating in public” and team officials being made to pay for giving their riders a tow. You might not realise it but it’s actually illegal for a team mechanic to lean out of the window and conduct mobile repairs, everything has to be done by the roadside and when stationary.