Oscar Riesebeek (Alpecin-Deceuninck) has become the first rider to be banned under the UCI's yellow card rules. The 32-year-old Dutchman was caught red-handed on stages 2 and 5 of the Tour de Belgium, breaking the same rule: "Using footpaths, cycle paths or other roads not part of the race course."
This means that Riesebeek must serve a seven-day suspension, which states that "If a license holder receives two yellow cards in the same race, he will be disqualified from the race (in the case of a multi-day race) and will be given a seven-day suspension."
"I accept the consequences of my actions. Of course it is disappointing to have to miss the national championships, but in retrospect I realize that my behavior during the race was not only wrong, but also put my fellow competitors at risk," said Riesebeek. "It is something I truly regret and apologize for. The rules are clear. If they are applied consistently, I will fully respect that. I will now take some time to recover and prepare for the next races."
Due to the ban, Riesebeek will miss the Dutch Championships in his hometown of Ede this week. However, this will not affect his participation in the Tour de France, where he is expected to be part of Jasper Philipsen's sprint train.
Although Riesebeek admits that his actions put others at risk, his second use of the sidewalk at the Baloise Belgium Tour primarily affected him - he fell and interrupted the tour. Fortunately, no fractures were detected as a result of the fall.
