Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) put on a show in Liège-Bastogne-Liège with a stinging attack over the Côte des Forges that almost looked like it would succeed. However, the Ecuadoran was disqualified for getting into the now-banned 'super-tuck' position with 19km to go.
Carapaz was brought back before the final climb of the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons and finished in a chasing group 1:21 behind winner Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) in 29th place.
However, when the official results were published, Carapaz had been removed from the placing and disqualified.
Earlier this year, the UCI announced it would strictly enforce existing rules that require riders to ride with hands on the bars and seated on the saddle, ruling out the 'super-tuck' - where riders shift forward of the saddle and rest above the top tube - a position used in recent years to gain an extra aerodynamic advantage.
UCI president David Lappartient explained why the rules would be enforced while announcing sweeping changes to improve rider safety, saying in February, "We banned the (super-tuck) positions because the riders explained it can give up to 14 per cent benefit and if you don’t use it at the top of a mountain, you can be left behind."
Other riders who have been disqualified under the new rules include Gijs Leemreize at Brabantse Pijl and Alexander Richardson (Alpecin-Fenix) at Tour of Turkey, but Carapaz is the highest-profile rider to earn a disqualification so far.
Riders successfully lobbied the UCI to institute a tiered punishment for discarding bidons outside the designated zones after Michael Schär (AG2R Citroën) was kicked out of the Tour of Flanders after tossing a bottle to a young fan.
