Seven of the eight UAE Team Emirates riders competing in the Vuelta a España have each been fined CHF 500 and 15 UCI points for wearing unauthorized jerseys at the team presentation in Lisbon on Thursday.

Jay Byrne, who was absent from the presentation, was the only UAE rider to escape sanctioning, which was announced by the race jury in a communiqué released after the first stage on Saturday evening. Sporting director Marco Marcato was also fined 500 Swiss francs.

In the communiqué, the UAE riders were sanctioned because of “non-conformity of clothing during the team presentation. (Not UCI approved jersey) [sic]”.

UAE Team Emirates, wearing a special edition kit with pink and yellow detailing on the chest and sleeves to commemorate Tadej Pogachar's Giro d'Italia and Tour de France double victory, made the podium at the team presentation Thursday night.

Pogachar has decided against a triple Grand Tour crown in the Vuelta, opting instead to focus on the world championship road race in Zurich on September 29.

Despite Pogachar's absence, UAE Team Emirates is likely to win back-to-back Grand Tours this season, reminiscent of Jumbo Visma's feat a year ago.

Joao Almeida and Adam Yates, who finished fourth and sixth overall, respectively, in the Tour, will lead the UAE Team Emirates lineup in the Vuelta, while neo-professional Isaac Del Toro will also make his Grand Tour debut.

Brandon McNulty proved fastest in the time trial to Oeiras, winning the Maillot Rojo.

McNulty left Cascais with a 2-second lead over Matthias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) and a 3-second lead over Wout Van Aert (Wisma-Ries-a-Bike) on stage 2.

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