Alberto Bettiol gets fined and docked UCI Points after throwing a bidon in Tour Down Under- "It was an impulsive gesture"

EF Education-EasyPost and former leader of Tour Down Under Alberto Bettiol, was fined 1000 Swiss francs and docked 50 UCI ranking points. This measure was done according to UCI regulation 2.12.007.8.2.2: Assault, intimidation, insult, improper conduct or behavior that is indecent, directed at TV motorbike. This incident occurred during stage 2 of the race, at a time race leader Bettiol was suffering cramps.

The cramps made him unable to pedal properly momentarily and eventually made him lose his leader jersey and all hopes to finish in a good place on the general classification. The Italian while having this was being filmed by a motorbike and he, visibly unhappy with the situation, waved first to the motor to get away to no avail so, Bettiol proceeded to throw a bidon at him.

“I want to apologize for throwing the bidon. I’m not like that, people who know me well, know that too. But we’re not robots, we’re human beings, and sometimes we get emotional, get frustrated and so make mistakes. I accept the punishment of the UCI judges. I know I’m fortunate that they didn’t disqualify me. Furthermore, I think that means they realize we're all human too and all make mistakes.”, he told CyclingNews.

The Italian at first seemed to get away from this situation, since the race officials didn't punish him at the end of the stage. But UCI took measures and at Stage 3 results the punishment to Alberto Bettiol appeared. The Italian was in a stressful situation, and it is never very nice being filmed when you're suffering from cramps, but that is part of professional cycling and Bettiol knows he acted wrong, while he also accepts the punishment.

“I try to control my emotions when I’m racing, but I was disappointed at that moment because I was losing the Tour Down Under’s leader’s jersey. I didn’t want to hurt or offend anyone, it was an impulsive gesture. When the motorbike stopped next to me, I waved them away, but they stayed there, and so I suddenly saw red and threw a bidon towards them. It was a mistake and I want to publicly apologize to the motorbike driver and cameraman, the race and my team and teammates.” he concluded.