Tadej Pogačar‘s victory celebrations were cut short at Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday after the race jury handed him a hefty fine of 5000 CHF shortly after the podium presentation. The fine was outlined in the official race communique directly following the event on Sunday.
However, the fine was later removed with the World Champion’s team, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, telling La Gazzetta dello Sport that it had been revoked.
Article continues below
The fine may have been in relation to the addition of a personal sponsor, watchmaker Richard Mille, to the sleeve of Pogačar’s long-sleeve podium jersey.
According to Sporza, the UCI previously prohibited additions to standard jerseys but have since relaxed their regulations. The UCI officials at Liège-Bastogne-Liège later acknowledged their error and the fine was removed.
Pogačar produced a masterclass performance to win Liège-Bastogne-Liège for the fourth time in his career, finally dropping worthy challenger Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) on the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons with 13.9km to go and riding solo to the finish.
The Frenchman hung on for second place while Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) won the chase-group sprint for third. The three riders celebrated their successes on the podium.
At the time the initial race communique noted the fine, it was unclear what the specific issue was with his jersey, as Pogačar had worn it on other podiums this year. The race jury and the UCI had offered no other explanation at the time of writing.
Get unlimited access to our unrivalled 2026 Spring Classics coverage with a Cyclingnews subscription. We’ll bring you breaking news, reports, and analysis from some of the biggest races on the calendar, including Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Find out more.