Team Visma | Lease a Bike was disadvantaged during the opening stage of La Vuelta Femenina due to errors in the UCI’s team time trial start procedure. The team filed an official complaint with the UCI jury immediately after the stage. They acknowledged that mistakes were made in the organization of the start process but stated that no further action would be taken.
Although the riders arrived well in time for the mandatory bike check prior to the team time trial, delays occurred due to another team arriving late. In addition, the check was initially carried out by only one official, further extending the wait time. A second inspector was deployed later, but by then, Team Visma | Lease a Bike Women was no longer able to benefit from the extra capacity. As a result, some riders received their bikes back so late that they could not reach the start on time.
Team Visma | Lease a Bike Women will pursue further steps and file a formal complaint with the UCI management.
Jacco Verhaeren, Head of Coaching at Team Visma | Lease a Bike Women, expressed his disappointment: “I went straight to the UCI jury after the stage. They too admitted that this was not handled properly. We operate in elite sport, and this is one of the major races on the calendar. Of course, we congratulate today’s rightful winners, Lidl-Trek, on their victory. At the same time, we want to stress that sport is about fair play for all teams. Sadly, that was not the case today, and we deeply regret it.”
