"The UCI is apparently tight on cash" - Patrick Lefevere slams UCI following Julian Alaphilippe's helmet controversy

Patrick Lefevere bashes the UCI in comments on his weekly column for Het Nieuwsblad. The Soudal-Quick-Step manager wasn't happy with the fine Julian Alaphilippe got in Paris-Nice due to removing his helmet. He says that UCI should look forward to improving itself.

"Jerking winds in Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico, but I note that it is also raining. Fines from the UCI are falling from the sky this year in whole buckets, Five hundred Swiss Francs fine for Julian Alaphilippe because he briefly took off his helmet on Thursday (in Tirreno-Adriatico, ed.) when he changed his outerwear."

"How long would it have taken? A maximum of five minutes. That would be a hundred Swiss francs a minute", said Lefevere. Lefevere believes the UCI would also do well to put its own hand in its pocket.

"I am not going to say that the UCI should applaud when a rider takes off his helmet, safety should not be minimized. But does the federation also impose a fine on itself if there is suddenly a roadside pole in the last kilometer of Paris-Nice? On the official communiqué, I didn't see that mentioned anyway", he commented.

It is not the first time this season, that UCI has fined a Soudal-Quick-Step rider since James Knox was disqualified in Tour Down Under.

"It is not normal what the judges are 'verbalizing' these days. The UCI is apparently tight on cash. Returning behind the car used to be allowed with a blind eye, so that a rider who was unlucky could still return to the race. See James Knox at the Tour Down Under. He flew from Europe to Adelaide, fell in the first stage and was immediately ruled out for trying to return to the peloton behind the cars."

Knox, who suffered a crash before his disqualification by the race organizers due to racing behind cars to return to the peloton, wasn't happy with the decision and called for more understanding for fallen riders after his disqualification.

"The reason for his falling behind was not only the crash but also the doctor's check for concussion that followed. The UCI protocol on this literally states that an in-race check must not compromise the rider's competition, but a practical attempt to reconcile the two – returning behind the cars – does not pass muster with the jury."

Lefevere feels UCI is having inconsistent behaviour and beliefs that the solution to tackle that is to have former riders become UCI commissioners.

"What is depannage, and what is course forgery? A former rider feels that better than someone who has never raced. My advice to discontinued riders who 'want to keep doing something in racing': take a UCI commissioner training course.", he finished.