A Practice as Old as the Street: Patrick Lefevere Not Impressed with UCI over Pee-Gate

Never one to pull his punches, Belgian cycling guru Patrick Lefevere has weighed in on the latest controversy in the sport and, to paraphrase an old saying, suggested it is all a bit of a storm in a pee cup.

Controversy arose when the UCI issued a warning after stage 9 of the Giro d’Italia. The governing body was p*ssed off due to an unspecified rider or riders using their bidon as a portable pissoir.

“To respect the image of cycling and the Giro d’Italia, the organizer and the Commissaires’ Panel inform all riders that urinating into a bottle and subsequently discarding it is strictly prohibited,” stated the jury report.

Jonas Vingegaard’s teammate Victor Campenaerts subsequently issued a mea pee-a culpa via social media, identifying himself as one of the waterboys.

“By very, very popular demand, I will give an explanation about the pee bottle,” he said Thursday in an Instagram post.

“We ride the bikes through the whole country. And I think by law in most countries it is forbidden to urinate in public. Next to that, there are a lot of crowds at the side of the road, so my solution was to pee in the bottle, to not pee in somebody’s front yard or not pee on people next to the road,” he said. “I can then pass it to the car behind. It’s all good intentions.

“The accusation of me being the inventor might be right,” Campenaerts added. “But it is forbidden now, so you will never see me doing that again. Won’t happen again.”

Belgian veteran Oliver Naesen suggested that Peter Sagan was another fan of the funny flask.

“I’ve known about ‘pee bottles’ since the days of Peter Sagan – he did that often,” Naesen told Sporza. “I’ve only known two who do it: Campi [Victor Campenaerts – ed] and Sagan.”

Not so, says Lefevere.

‘The UCI is so eager to ban things’

The Belgian icon has been around cycling for decades, first as a pro and then as manager of the Soudal Quick-Step setup.

He’s known for controversial statements and sometimes ill-informed public positions but his column in Het Nieuwsblad may have many nodding in agreement.

“Honestly: I don’t see the problem. What do we prefer? Riders who pull their dick out of their shorts in front of the public or those who instead modestly conceal it in a bottle? I would think the latter.”

He also takes issue with the reputed origin of the piddling practice.

“Victor Campenaerts is now supposedly the spiritual father of the pee bottle, but that practice is as old as the street. In the kindergarten that the peloton can be, it was a popular joke. Peeing in a bottle and then giving it to a teammate.”

He suggests the governing body is taking itself and its role a little too seriously.

“I don’t know what it is with the UCI, but they are so eager to ban things,” he said. “Socks that go too high? Forbidden. Peeing in a bidon? Forbidden. The Gravaa system that instantly re-inflates tires? Forbidden, right before the start of Paris-Roubaix.

“Celebrating when your teammate wins? Forbidden. A handlebar narrower than 40 centimeters? Forbidden. Yellow, green, or white-with-red-dots in the design of your jersey? Forbidden. They often ban things justifiably, but the list of trivialities is embarrassingly long.”

His point may be echoed by others, given the criticisms of the UCI over issues such as dangerous race routes and finishes, plus a court case it lost to SRAM in recent days over gearing restrictions.

The governing body controversially drew on funds from the budget of SafeR, a safety body funded by multiple stakeholders, to launch its appeal against an earlier ruling which backed SRAM.

The professional cycling teams association (AIGCP) voted against the use of the money by the UCI, reported to be as high as €300,000, but were overruled by other stakeholders.

Campenaerts ‘spending a penny’ does indeed seem a bit trivial in that light.