Nipplegate: Mathieu Van Der Poel Hit by UCI Penalty

Mathieu van der Poel had a costly afternoon at the Tour de Suisse, first losing the stage 4 time trial to Tadej Pogačar by just 0.31 and then being hit by a large UCI fine due to his time in the hot seat.

Van der Poel was off 52 minutes sooner than race leader Pogačar and once he set the fastest time, he sat down in the designated area close to the finish line to see if he would hold on.

As pictured by TV cameras, he coped with the sweltering heat at the Tour de Suisse by rolling his skinsuit down to waist level.

The choice to expose his chest and shoulders likely didn’t trouble any fans but it did irk the UCI, who decided to whack him with a big fine.

“Inappropriate attire while on the hot seat,” admonished the UCI in a post-race communique, revealing he has been subjected to a penalty of 500 Swiss francs. That’s approximately 620 US, or 540 euro.

Van der Poel is additionally out of pocket due to his split-second defeat by Pogačar. Had he taken what would have been a first-ever pro time trial win, he would have earned 4000 euro for the stage victory.

The prize for second place? 2000 euro, half that amount.

No wonder he looked rueful before covering up and riding away.

At least his socks weren’t too long.