Tour of Britain rider fined £700 after he was photographed urinating in public

A Tour of Britain rider has been fined more than £700 after a picture emerged of him urinating in public.

Alpecin-Fenix rider Alexandar Richardson was handed a fine by the race commissaires, after a picture of him urinating in public emerged on social media after the opening day of the British stage race. 

British pro Richardson, who previously raced for the Canyon-DHB Continental squad, has been fined 1,000 Swiss Francs (around £790) and was docked 50 points from the UCI ranking for “improper conduct.”

The Mayor of St Ives has since clarified that she was in fact sent the picture by a member of the public who witnessed Richardson urinating in public, which she then passed on to the race organisers. 

A communique released by the race organisers said: “A complaint was received from the Mayor of St Ives, who produced a picture of the rider Alexandar Richardson urinating in public, which subsequently found its way onto several social media channels. 

“This is unacceptable behaviour.” 

Stage one of the 2021 Tour of Britain started in Penzance, Cornwall and swept around the coastline to travel through the picturesque town of St Ives, before heading up the country to finish in Bodmin. 

Richardson is riding his second season at ProTeam level with Alpecin and has raced plenty of one-day events with the Belgian squad

But it’s not the first time Richardson has been in trouble with the commissaires this season.

In April, the 31-year-old became the second person to be disqualified from a race for an illegal riding position after the UCI banned the forearms time trial position. 

Richardson was caught on camera at the Tour of Turkey using his forearms on the handlebars to support his weight, while gripping his brake levers with his little fingers.  

On April 1, the UCI introduced strict punishments for anyone riding in a number of unconventional riding positions, including the ‘supertuck’ and forearms on the bars, on safety grounds.

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Richardson was only the second person to have been disqualified from a race for the offence, after Jumbo-Visma’s Gijs Leemreize was kicked out of Brabantse Pijl just a few hours later. 

While Richardson was filmed riding in an illegal position before Leemreize’s offence, the Dutchman was kicked out of Brabantse Pijl immediately, while Richardson was not disqualified from the Tour of Turkey until after he had finished the stage.