Yellow cards have arrived in the world of cycling. The UCI has made official their entry into force as of August 1, and the first major round in which they will be applied is the Vuelta a España 2024. Many are wondering what the consequences of this new measure will be.
The yellow cards will be used by the race commissaires to sanction any infraction that puts the safety of the competition at risk, whether to cyclists, teams or any other party involved. These will be reflected in the communiqué of each stage, so they will not carry consequences until the next day of competition.
The penalty system devised by the UCI is on trial until December 31, 2024. This means that penalties issued until the end of the year will not result in the suspension or disqualification of those involved.
At the beginning of last June, the UCI approved several measures at the congress held at its headquarters in Aigle (Switzerland) aimed at ensuring and improving the safety of cyclists, following the recommendations drawn up by SafeR, the new structure that looks after the safety of cyclists.
Of all the new measures adopted, the one that undoubtedly attracted the most attention was the introduction of yellow cards, together with the limitation of the use of earpieces, following the model applied in soccer to sanction actions that the referee considers to be out of place.
As of January 1, 2025, yellow cards will come into operation. They reflect three types of suspensions:
– 7-day suspension: will be applied to riders who receive two yellow cards during the same race.
– 14-day suspension: Will be applied to riders who receive three yellow cards within 30 days.
– 30-day suspension: Will be applied to riders who receive six yellow cards within 365 days.
Source: News Agencies