The Tour de France Femmes is underway, and with it has come the return of the jury report, the daily update on punishments doled out throughout the nine-day race.
Each day, the UCI commissaires at the race cast their eye over the goings on in the peloton as the race makes its way across from the Grand Départ in Lausanne, Switzerland, to Nice, France, from August 1-9. The eagle-eyed jury can spot a sticky bottle or a rider illegally littering from a mile off.
More dangerous infractions are also penalised, with commissaires now able to enforce cycling’s new yellow card system. Two yellow cards within 30 days result in a rider being disqualified from the race and receiving a seven-day suspension, while three yellow cards within the same 30-day period lead to a 14-day ban.
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Day one of the race has already delivered a wad of fines, including a penalty for Alice Towers (EF Education-Oatly) for disposing of a bidon outside of the litter zone, and a number of sports directors were also penalised with both a fine and yellow card due to breaches of vehicle movement instructions.
Then there was also a list of warnings for riding on the sidewalk, with defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) among those given a caution. Under the UCI regulation cited in the warning, if a penalty had been applied instead of a warning the consequences could have included a fine of up to 500CHF, 15 points from UCI rankings, a yellow card and – importantly for the overall contenders – a 20 second time penalty. In serious cases disqualification from the race is also among the options. Alison Jackson (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93) also received a warning for a non-compliant position.
Read on for the complete list of yellow cards, fines, and penalties at the 2026 Tour de France Femmes, as well as a list of infractions that could see a rider handed a yellow card.
Yellow cards, fines, and penalties at the 2026 Tour de France Femmes
Stage 1
- Alice Towers (EF Education-Oatly) – 500CHF, disposing of bidon outside of litter zones
- Christian Kos (SD Worx-Protime DS), Ion Lazkano (Labodal Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi DS), Cherie Pridham (UAE Team L’IMAD DS) – 500CHF fine and yellow card, breach of regulations or guidelines concerning vehicle movement
- Huub Duijn (EF Education-Oatly DS) – 500CHF fine
- Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike), Lieke Nooijen (Visma-Lease a Bike), Lily Williams (Human Powered Health), Josie Nelson (Picnic PostNL) – Warning for use of sidewalks
- Alison Jackson (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93) – Warning for using a non-compliant position on the bicycle
Infringements that can result in yellow cards
- 3.4 – Rider taking off mandatory helmet during the race.
- 4.2.1 – Hand sling between teammates.
- 4.2.2 – Hand sling between riders from different teams.
- 4.3 – Pushing off against car, motorcycle, rider; rider pushing another rider.
- 4.6 – Rider holding onto vehicle or mechanical intervention from a moving vehicle.
- 4.7 – Sheltering behind or taking advantage of the slipstream of a vehicle.
- 4.9 – Follower leaning out of a vehicle or holding equipment outside a vehicle.
- 4.10 – Unauthorised feeding (4.10.1 – 4.10.2 – 4.10.3 – 4.10.4 – 4.10.5 – 4.10.6)
- 4.11 – Irregular feeding (“sticky bottle” or feeding outside feed zone, etc.).
- 4.12 – Non-compliance with the article 2.3.025 by a team assistant during feeding
- 5.1 – Irregular sprint, deviation from the chosen line that obstructs or endangers another rider.
- 5.2 – Rider decelerating during a sprint and endangering other riders
- 6.1 – Obstruction by a rider or vehicle in order to prevent or delay the movement of another rider or vehicle
- 6.3 – Breach of regulations or guidelines concerning vehicle movements during the race or failure to comply with the instructions of commissaires and/or the organisation
- 6.4 – Interviewing a rider during the race.
- 6.5 – Interviewing a sport director during the last 10 kilometres of a race or conducting the interview from a car rather than a motorbike.
- 7.1 – Deviation from the race route constituting an advantage, attempting to be placed without having covered the entire race route.
- 7.6 – Use of sidewalks/pavements, paths or cycle lanes that do not form part of the race route.
- 7.7 – Passing through a level crossing that is closed or in the process of closing (lights flashing and/or audible warnings).
- 7.9 – Using a non-compliant position or point of support on the bicycle that represents a danger to the rider or competitors.
- 8.1 – Failing to respect the instructions of the organiser or commissaires.
- 8.2.1 – Assault, intimidation, insults, threats, improper conduct (including pulling the jersey or saddle of another rider, blow with the helmet, knee, elbow, shoulder, foot or hand, etc.), or behaviour that is indecent or that endangers others (between riders)
- 8.2.2 – Assault, intimidation, insults, threats, improper conduct (including pulling the jersey or saddle of another rider, blow with the helmet, knee, elbow, shoulder, foot or hand, etc.), or behaviour that is indecent or that endangers others (directed at any other person, including spectators).
- 8.3 – Rider or team staff disposing of waste or other objects outside of litter zones. (adapted also to one-day events since April 1)
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