SCHAER Michael

General
DISQUALIFICATION
He was disqualified from the 2021 Tour of Flanders in Belgium after disposing of one of his water bottles outside of one of the 'litter zones'. A rule had been brought in by the International Cycling Union [UCI] ahead of the 2021 season forbidding riders to 'litter' outside of designated areas, but it was loosened following a negative reaction to Schar's disqualification from fans and other professional riders. "[At the 1997 Tour de France as a spectator] I received a bottle from a pro. This little plastic piece made my cycling addiction complete. Back home that bottle reminded me every day of what my dream was. I rode with my yellow Team Polti bottle every day in full pride. Every day. Now I am one of these pros who race through all of the happy spectators. During calm moments of the race I always keep my empty bottle until I see some kids next to the road. Then I throw it gently right where they can catch it safely. The bottles from us belong to the spectators, and it makes so many kids dreams and so many kids happy. If we lose the connectivity to be close to the spectators, then we lose the last little thing we have. I honestly am quite proud of what happened because the rule has changed. I think I was the first and the last guy to be disqualified." (velonews.com, 13 Jul 2021; Instagram profile, 05 Apr 2021; bbc.co.uk, 04 Apr 2021)