Visma boss Plugge slams UCI over Martinez sticky bottle: “The jury’s inconsistency is a major problem”

Team Visma | Lease a Bike general manager Richard Plugge has taken aim at Tour de France commissaires after Lenny Martinez received what he sees as a lenient penalty for repeated sticky bottle infractions on stage 18 — a move that helped the Bahrain – Victorious rider retain his joint lead in the King of the Mountains classification.

Martinez, level on mountain points with Tadej Pogacar heading into the queen stage, was dropped early on the Col du Glandon but managed to claw his way back to the breakaway after three visible sticky bottle assists from his team car. He went on to take maximum KOM points at the summit, only to be docked just eight points by the jury — a sanction Plugge believes falls well short of fair.

“This is not part of the game — especially not when you’re competing for points or a jersey,” Plugge said on Sporza's Vive le Vélo. “Even if you’re struggling just to stay in the race, it’s not allowed. But here it had a clear impact on the classification.”

Plugge didn’t stop there, highlighting what he sees as a broader issue of inconsistency in UCI race officiating. He pointed to a 5,000 Swiss franc fine handed to Ineos Grenadiers earlier in the race after one of their vehicles hit a roadside fan, while Martinez and his team manager Roman Kreuziger were each fined just 500 francs for repeated infractions.

“You should be able to rely on the UCI to apply the rules as written — but too often that doesn’t happen,” Plugge said. “It makes things extremely unclear.”

He went on to question why Tour de France organisers weren’t fined over the spectator incident. “The real question is why those fans were allowed to stand there at all. Why doesn’t the organisation get fined to even things up?”

As the race nears its conclusion and every jersey hangs in the balance, Plugge’s comments reflect a growing unease in the peloton over how — and when — the rules are enforced.