Jonas Vingegaard refused to start the sixth stage in the polka dot jersey on Thursday. The jersey featured the logo of former Visma sponsor BetCity due to a mistake by Tour organizer ASO. Sports sponsorship by gambling companies has been prohibited in the Netherlands since July 1.
Visma-Lease a Bike did not agree with the design, but there was no time to print a new polka dot jersey, reports WielerFlits. This caused a lot of commotion around the Dutch cycling team’s bus.
Vingegaard is in third place in the mountain classification. However, because Tadej Pogacar is already wearing yellow and Tim Wellens is wearing the Belgian champion jersey, the Dane must wear the jersey according to UCI rules. The ASO reportedly contacted Wellens at the last minute, but without success.
“I would like to start in the polka dot jersey, but I didn’t have the choice,” Wellens told WielerFlits. “Of course, I have a nice Belgian jersey, but it would have been nice to ride in the polka dot jersey for another day. If possible, I’ll quickly change.”
After all the commotion, Vingegaard started the stage in the polka dot jersey after all. Images show that the BetCity logo has been blacked out, so the Dane probably won’t be fined by the Gaming Authority.