Thijs Zonneveld blasts UCI rule enforcement as Tour de France Femmes breakaway rider warned - "Surely that isn't right?"

Thijs Zonneveld has blasted the UCI and race jury's enforcement of the rules around riders' handlebar position as Riejanne Markus received two warnings while in a breakaway glory pursuit on Sundat's Tour de France Femmes stage 2.

The Lidl-Trek rider was warned about her position on the bars and how she gripped them twice during the stage and was caught by a flying peloton with 500 meters to go, with the analyst speculating that the treatment of her in the breakaway was not right.

It echoes a similar incident in the Tour de France last month as Huub Artz was also warned over his position, visibly debating with commissaires and ultimately dropping from the breakaway, although it was confirmed that he was not ordered to do so by the jury, but rather a choice he made after receiving warning.

On Sunday's case, Zonneveld claims that the enforcement focused on breakaway riders creates an unfair environment and criticised the vague nature of the rule itself, of ensuring that riders do not ride on the bars without holding the shifters and brake leavers.

"Riejanne Markus received two warnings because she allegedly wasn't holding her handlebars properly. She was probably sitting with her hands on her shifters and touching the handlebars with her wrists," Thijs Zonneveld said on the podcast, In de Waaier.

Citing examples of the rule not being enforced on other riders while in the peloton, Zonneveld criticsied their scrutinisation of attackers, claiming that in Markus' case, there was no wrong-doing.

He claimed: "We see that in all races, certainly by the big names as well. We have seen Pogacar, Seixas, and Vingegaard do it too..."

"Especially when there is a breakaway, they suddenly start paying very close attention. They ride alongside and then warn people... That rule is so outrageously vague. It is ridiculous that you force a breakaway rider to ride with her hands on the drops, because you are allowed to just touch the handlebars with your wrists... But you are allowed to lean on your handlebars, provided you are holding the shifters. I haven't seen Markus do anything wrong."

Remarking that the enforcement becomes a disadvantage to the breakaway, he pointed to the case of Artz and speculated whether Markus could have won the stage if not for her warning.

"I don't think it's okay that they are disadvantaging breakaway riders in this way now, because that is how they are using the rule. Huub Artz was also in the men's breakaway and said he didn't know if he still wanted to be in the breakaway. Surely that isn't right?"

He added: "For the last twenty kilometers, Markus was in the drops. I think you came close and she would have taken those extra twenty seconds. She is now short of them."