Van Poppel receives second yellow card: "It's frustrating to see them being so inconsistent"

Danny van Poppel has received his second yellow card of the season, following Saturday’s sprint stage in the UAE Tour. The Dutch lead-out rider for Sam Welsford and Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe initially finished eighth, but was later penalized for "deviating from his chosen line and obstructing another rider."

Despite receiving a second warning, Van Poppel is not at immediate risk of suspension, as the rules only enforce a ban if a rider collects two yellow cards in the same race or stage race. His first yellow card came during the Tour Down Under, where, after leading out Sam Welsford, he drifted off his line and impeded Tobias Lund Andresen and Phil Bauhaus. However, with this latest warning, he is now under close scrutiny.

Text continues below video

Van Poppel was relegated in the classification and fined, but for now, avoids a suspension

Danny van Poppel received his second yellow card on Saturday following stage six of the UAE Tour. In the final sprint, he obstructed Arvid de Kleijn, nearly pushing the Tudor sprinter into the barriers. De Kleijn was forced to stop pedaling and expressed his frustration with a hand gesture. The race jury deemed Van Poppel’s move dangerous riding, relegating him to 25th place in his group and issuing a 500 Swiss Franc fine.

According to current UCI regulations, a rider can only be suspended if they receive two yellow cards in the same one-day or stage race—which does not apply in this case. Van Poppel would only face suspension if he receives another yellow card in the final stage of the UAE Tour, but that seems unlikely, as the race finishes with a steep climb up Jebel Hafeet.

However, he remains at risk. A rider who accumulates three yellow cards within 30 days faces a 14-day suspension, while six yellow cards in a year result in a 30-day ban. In all cases, the suspension starts the day after receiving the final yellow card.

Text continues below video

Criticism mounts over ‘inconsistent’ new system

The new card system was officially introduced at the Tour Down Under, after being tested by the UCI late last year. The goal is to improve safety in sprints, but it has already drawn significant criticism, with many riders and team members believing the rule enforcement is inconsistent.

"Something had to change because cycling was getting really dangerous. But my frustration is that I’ve seen several sprints where they didn’t give a yellow card, even though they could have," Van Poppel told Cyclingnews before stage four of the UAE Tour.

"They need to treat everyone the same," he continued. "They penalized me in the Tour Down Under, but then you see incidents in other races… It’s really frustrating to see how inconsistent they are. You need a professional ex-sprinter to handle this, but there aren’t really experienced ex-sprinters in the UCI. In the end, it’s okay for me, and maybe it’s a wake-up call for cycling."

Text continues below photo

Arvid de Kleijn

De Kleijn doesn't think much will change

There were more reactions to the new yellow card system. Mark Renshaw supports the idea but believes enforcement could be even stricter. "During the Tour Down Under, there was one rider in particular who could have received three yellow cards if the rules had been applied more strictly." The former top lead-out rider, now a sports director at XDS Astana, won’t be coaching his sprinters any differently despite the new regulations. "Am I encouraging my riders to change their sprinting style? No. But they need to understand that sprints are being monitored more closely than ever, so they have to sprint correctly."

Arvid de Kleijn also shared his opinion on the system before stage four. "I don’t think it will change much, but I do think it’s a good system to highlight things that aren’t allowed. However, for now, I don’t expect it to make a big difference," he said, sounding somewhat pessimistic.

Read also

Course and results of UAE Tour 2025 | Milan - Merlier ends in 2-2, will Pogi go all out on Sunday?

"My legs were good, but tactically it wasn't great": Vingegaard reflects on Alto de Foia

After yet another Algarve incident, Vingegaard and Degenkolb say something needs to change: "Never seen anything like it before"

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Get every week the latest news about CYCLING in your inbox!

Subscribe