Screw-up involving Wærenskjold shows the importance of earpieces, record high fines due to lack of communication?

The road race at the Olympics was finger-licking good, and the earpiece ban undoubtedly contributed to that. The car did not provide tactical input, only racing by instinct. Stressful but also sensational, right? Søren Wærenskjold will think differently after the lack of communication cost him the race.

The 24-year-old Norwegian shattered his front fork in a crash on the local circuit in Paris. According to footage from someone along the side, he was put on the side of the road by the stewards to wait for Norway's support vehicle. That one was riding far back in the caravan but showed up around the corner at one point. However, it was so fast that they missed Wærenskjold.

In a split second, the Uno-X-Mobility rider saw his road race was over. He then smashed the already broken bike hard to the ground. On foot, with the bike over his arm, Wærenskjold continued on his way.

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UCI prospers with many fines in road race Paris

According to the UCI's jury report, it was just one of many incidents in a chaotic road race in Paris. The cycling federation did remarkably well, receiving 11,200 Swiss francs in fines. This included some sticky bottles at 500 francs each from Luka Mezgec and Mattias Skjelmose, among others. Also, there is a long list of penalties of 200 francs for riders and team managers who accepted and handed out food outside the designated area.

The team managers' cars also pushed the limit. The sports directors of Switzerland, Luxembourg, Denmark, and Great Britain were fined 1,000 francs per person for hanging out of the car, and the British, along with the French, Dutch, and Belgians, did not use the roof rails offered by the organization. That earned them a 200-franc fine. In the end, fines were added for France, Belgium, and Ireland after the team leaders entered the "third zone" with the car, which was not allowed. Tom Pidcock closed the long list; he was fined 500 francs for "inappropriate behavior."