(Reuters) – The sight of riders celebrating a teammate’s victory in bunch finishes could become a thing of the past after governing body the UCI toughened up its rules in a bid to improve safety.
Specialist sprinters are usually delivered to the sprint zone by a train of their teammates before battling it out with their rivals to cross the line first.
With their job done, teammates usually slow down and often raise their arms in celebration as they watch the action unfold further up the road.
New rules that have come in to force will prohibit such displays of team camaraderie with punishments including fines of up to 500 euros ($515.50), yellow cards, the loss of points and demotions.
The amended rule for the sprint zone states that penalties could apply to riders decelerating during a sprint and endangering other riders, knowingly staying within the line of other riders, celebrating in the bunch, talking on the radio or taking hands off handlebars while in the bunch.
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(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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