Wiebes disqualified from Giro d'Italia for underweight bike after winning stage 1

Cor Vos

Hours after Lorena Wiebes out-sprinted Elisa Balsamo to win the first stage of the Giro d'Italia women, the UCI disqualified the Dutch champion for bike weight violations. Wiebes was ejected from the rest of the race and thus will not start stage 2 on Sunday. She was set to wear pink, but instead the jersey was handed to Balsamo, along with the first stage title.

Lorena Wiebes sprints into pink in first stage of Giro d’Italia WomenWiebes bested Elisa Balsamo to win stage 1 of the 2026 Giro d’Italia.Escape CollectiveAbby Mickey

According to the stage 1 communique, Wiebes's bike did not conform to the minimum weight requirements. It read: "Use of a bicycle not in compliance with the regulations, specifically failing to meet the minimum weight requirements." Wiebes was disqualified, while Danny Stam, the team director for SD Worx-Protime, was fined 500 CHF.

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