Annemiek van Vleuten fined for sock height and skin suit infractions in UCI Road World Championships victory

Annemiek van Vleuten was lucky the UCI jury didn’t take a harsher line during her emotional and dramatic victory Saturday in the elite women’s road race at the UCI Road World Championships.

Behind the headlines of what Van Vleuten proudly called her “greatest” victory while racing with a fractured elbow, the UCI race jury fined the Dutch star for two violations during the race.

The first fine came after she started the race with an aerodynamic race suit that the jury said deviated too much from what her Dutch national federation teammates were racing with Saturday.

The aero suit itself wasn’t illegal, the jury said it was not the same color and texture as her Dutch teammates. She later put on a loose-fitting short-sleeved jersey on top of the aero suit, and was fined 500 Swiss francs for the infraction.

Also read:

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She was also called out for wearing socks that were riding too high up her leg and extended beyond the UCI limitation.

While some decry the UCI’s sock rules, many believe that longer socks provide an aerodynamic advantage.

The UCI imposed the sock limit rules a few years ago, and state that the sock and over-shoe cannot extend beyond the middle of the lower leg, roughly halfway between the knee and the ankle.

Images reveal that Van Vleuten’s sock height went clearly above the halfway point.

Though the infraction can see even more serious implications in a one-day race, even to include disqualification or exclusion from a race, but the jury decided instead to impose a 200 CHF fine.

Van Vleuten’s road world championship victory stands, with her wallet a little lighter.