Mixed reactions as new UCI rule gains first victim: "Working with a yellow card is much more stressful"

The 2025 cycling season has officially begun with the Tour Down Under, and with the new year comes the implementation of new rules, including the much-discussed yellow card system. After a trial period that started in mid-2024 and concluded at the end of last season, the UCI has decided to make this system an official method of sanctioning, adding it to the fines that race juries often issue during major international events.

The first warning under this new rule has already been issued during the women’s Tour Down Under. Uno-X Mobility DS Anna Badergruber was given a yellow card for overtaking the group without maintaining a safe distance after one of her athletes was involved in an accident.

Badergruber addressed the incident and the implications of this new system in an interview with Cyclingnews. “If the commissioners have decided that my manoeuvre was too dangerous, I accept it,” she stated. “But a warning is very serious because if you get a second one, you are disqualified. That’s why I think it’s necessary to be extremely clear about which incidents can lead to a warning. Also, working with a yellow card is much more stressful. From now on, when I have to make a manoeuvre in the team car or give a water bottle, I will always have the thought in my head whether I am doing everything correctly. What are the rules that are applied? In the group, we know what we are doing, we have done the UCI course, and most of us have been in the group for several years.”

The new rule has sparked differing opinions within the cycling community. Giorgia Bronzini, DS of Human Powered Health, expressed her doubts about the system’s consistency. “I think that each case needs to be analysed individually. Sometimes certain behaviours can impact the result or the safety of the riders, but in other situations, the same behaviour does not carry any risk. In any case, I think that the riders can commit to being more careful in the final stages, and this is a good way to educate them,” Bronzini said.

On the other hand, Beth Duryea adopted a wait-and-see approach. “Until we see the yellow cards in action for some time, it will be difficult to understand whether they have really made a difference,” she commented. “In the end, the only important thing is that these measures that are being taken help to make cycling safer.”