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.<\/p>\n
Controversy arose when the UCI issued a warning after stage 9 of the Giro d\u2019Italia. The governing body was p*ssed off due to an unspecified rider or riders using their bidon as a portable pissoir.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cTo respect the image of cycling and the Giro d\u2019Italia, the organizer and the Commissaires\u2019 Panel inform all riders that urinating into a bottle and subsequently discarding it is strictly prohibited,\u201d stated the jury report.<\/p>\n
Jonas Vingegaard\u2019s teammate Victor Campenaerts subsequently issued a mea pee-a culpa<\/em> via social media, identifying himself as one of the waterboys.<\/p>\n \u201cBy very, very popular demand, I will give an explanation about the pee bottle,\u201d he said Thursday in an Instagram post.<\/p>\n \u201cWe 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\u2019s front yard or not pee on people next to the road,\u201d he said. \u201cI can then pass it to the car behind. It\u2019s all good intentions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe accusation of me being the inventor might be right,\u201d Campenaerts added. \u201cBut it is forbidden now, so you will never see me doing that again. Won\u2019t happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n Belgian veteran Oliver Naesen suggested that Peter Sagan was another fan of the funny flask.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve known about \u2018pee bottles\u2019 since the days of Peter Sagan \u2013 he did that often,\u201d Naesen told Sporza. \u201cI\u2019ve only known two who do it: Campi [Victor Campenaerts \u2013 ed] and Sagan.\u201d<\/p>\n Not so, says Lefevere.<\/p>\n The Belgian icon has been around cycling for decades, first as a pro and then as manager of the Soudal Quick-Step setup.<\/p>\n He\u2019s known for controversial statements and sometimes ill-informed public positions but his column in Het Nieuwsblad may have many nodding in agreement.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly: I don\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n He also takes issue with the reputed origin of the piddling practice.<\/p>\n \u201cVictor 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.\u201d<\/p>\n He suggests the governing body is taking itself and its role a little too seriously.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what it is with the UCI, but they are so eager to ban things,\u201d he said. \u201cSocks 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.<\/p>\n \u201cCelebrating 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The professional cycling teams association (AIGCP) voted against the use of the money by the UCI, reported to be as high as \u20ac300,000, but were overruled by other stakeholders.<\/p>\n Campenaerts \u2018spending a penny\u2019 does indeed seem a bit trivial in that light.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n\u2018The UCI is so eager to ban things\u2019<\/h2>\n
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