Tour of Flanders: UCI ejects Michael Schär for illegal bottle toss

The UCI ejected Swiss veteran Michael Schär (Ag2r-Citroën) from Sunday’s Tour of Flanders for tossing a water bottle outside of a designated litter zone.

The move reveals how serious the cycling governing body is taking its new rules which came into effect on April 1, and reflected how it might take the peloton some time to change old habits.

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According to a replay of the incident, Schär was dangling off the back of the main bunch after suffering a mechanical issue with about 100km to go when he tossed a water bottle toward some fans alongside the road. Schär had a TV motorcycle trailing him, and seemed to quickly realize his mistake moments after tossing aside the bottle.

That move was a red card for in-race commissaires. As soon as Schär chased back to the bunch, officials notified the key helper to Greg Van Avermaet, who later finished third, he was out of the race.

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The water bottle rule is meant to limit litter and trash along the course, but also reduce the risk of water bottles bouncing around in the peloton. Riders have crashed after striking a water bottle that bounced back into the pack, including Geraint Thomas during last year’s Giro d’Italia.

Some were wondering why riders who tossed aside bottles in the closing kilometers Sunday were not sanctioned, but those bottles were discarded inside one of the designated “trash” zones on the route.

Earlier during the race, two riders — Yevgeniy Fedorov (Astana) and Otto Vergaerde (Alpecin-Fenix) — were ejected after what commissaires referring to as “dangerous riding.” The two riders were bumping shoulders and yelling at each other.