The early favorite must have been threatened with disqualification

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Tadej Pogacar won stage two of the Giro d’Italia on Sunday, and could therefore ride in the pink jersey on stage three. The Giro d’Italia leader also had a burgundy-red “skinsuit” which he is said to have been supplied by the organiser.

The shorts had the same color as the Torino football jerseys, and were supposed to commemorate the plane crash on 4 May 1949 where 31 people on the football team lost their lives.

The following day, the burgundy red shorts were gone, and instead replaced with regular black shorts.

– Now I have shorts, but no skinsuit, so maybe I can’t attack today, because I’m not fast enough, Pogacar joked to Discovery ahead of stage four.

See the mass sprint in stage four of the Giro d’Italia at the top of the story.

Could be disqualified

The Slovenian further explains that it was not his own choice to change shorts on stage four.

– I don’t know how much I can say. The organizer gave us the skin suite, so I rode with it on. Then we were called by the UCI who said that it was not allowed.

According to the website Cyclingnews Pogacar should have been threatened with disqualification if he rode with the colored shorts on stage four, as it was contrary to the UCI’s regulations regarding color aesthetics.

Weinig

The leader of RCS Sport, which organizes the Giro d’Italia, does not agree.

– In my opinion, it is absolutely in accordance with the rules. It is clear that it is a little different from what has been in the past, but in my opinion, and in the opinion of the producer Castelli, the colors are in harmony with each other and match, he says to Discovery.

Pogacar has 46 seconds down on Geraint Thomas ahead of stage five.

Here, Kristoff secures his first win of the year