Ethan Hayter (Soudal-QuickStep) was apologetic and regretful the day after he made an offensive middle finger gesture during his Tirreno-Adriatico time trial on Monday.
The British time trial champion's gesture was caught on live television and quickly spread across social media. Race officials saw it too and hit Hayter with a 500 Swiss Francs (550 Euro) fine and docked him 25 UCI ranking points.
Section 8.2 of the UCI's regulations on road racing covers "assault, intimidation, insults, threats, improper conduct or behaviour that is indecent or that endangers others".
The UCI did not apparently investigate the cause of Hayter's gesture but he revealed the television motorbike moved close to him for a brief shot as he raced on his aerobars at close to 60 kph.
Hayter is not known for being impulsive and aggressive. He admitted his frustration at the motorbike distracting his performance in the time trial. He finished eighth in the stage 1 time trial, which was won by Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), and so earned 8 UCI ranking points, but was then docked 25 points. The TV motorbike pilot was not punished on Monday.
"It was a bit of a childish reaction but I was a bit frustrated with the motorbike coming next to me. It's not allowed and it does slow you down. I should have just waved him away but… " Hayter told Cyclingnews and Bicisport before the start of Tuesday's stage.
"They're not allowed to come alongside you, especially at the time trial. I also wasn't going very well, so I was a bit frustrated, I think it was a bit childish."Teams often pay for minor race fines incurred by their riders or they are taken from the pooled rider prize money. However, Hayter admitted he will probably have to pay this fine himself. That could depend on internal team rules at Soudal-QuickStep.
"I think I have to pay for that myself. But it'll be interesting to know where the fine goes too because 500 francs is quite a lot," he said. "I can't really complain. My frustration was because the motorbike was so close. It was a bit childish."
