The UCI introduces stricter technical regulations for the Tour de France. Each racing team must register each individual part of bikes and clothing in advance.
This should ensure transparency, as in the great technical sport Formula 1, and ultimately also more safety. The technical specialists in the teams therefore have more work to do, but welcome the regulations.
aggravated material control before the start in Bilbao
Hectic hustle and bustle is inevitable before the start of the Tour de France in Bilbao. The inspectors of the world association UCI will not only use their well-known scanners to check the frames of the racing machines for electric motors that are still prohibited, despite the e-bike boom. Rather, they will examine each piece of equipment with long Excel spreadsheets. And if what they see matches what’s in the charts, they’ll put an inspection sticker on the frame of the racing machine – much like the TÜV does on motor vehicles.
The only difference is: The TÜV sticker withstands wind and weather. The UCI sticker, however, is quickly washed off. “That was already tried out at the Tour de Romandie. The sticker lasted exactly two days, it came off while washing with the Kärcher”, tells Rolf Aldag, Head of Performance at the German racing team Bora hansgrohe, to the sports show.
More safety
However, the ability of the control sticker to stick seems to be the only major problem with the new regulations at the moment. Otherwise managers, technical directors and technical developers of the racing teams welcome the innovation without exception. “The rules should make our sport better and above all safer”says Brent Copeland, manager of the Australian-Saudi racing team Jayco AlUla, the sports show. “We invest a lot of money in our athletes. We also have a great responsibility to give them the best material for the best possible career. If they fall, they are often out for months. And that’s why we should rule out avoidable situations such as material defects.”adds the ex-pro from South Africa.
Rolf Aldag, responsible for the development of technology and materials at Borahansgrohe, takes a similar view. “It’s just logical for a sport in which technology plays such a big role. You don’t want to have just any prototype that might shatter into thousands of pieces and is therefore very dangerous.”, says Aldag. He doesn’t see the additional sticker on the frame as a problem, even though the whole thing wasn’t tested in the wind tunnel like every other detail on the bike, clothing and seating position.
more work
Those who have to make it – technicians and technical managers – consider the effort for the teams to be manageable. “It’s not such a big change. It’s just structured differently now and you have to upload it to a platform. “The information is simply centralized”says Piet Rooijakkers, responsible for technology at the racing team DSM, to the sports show.
“We already have the lists that contain everything. You just have to adapt it a bit and then bring it to the platform.”agrees Koen de Kort from the Trek Segafredo racing team, who will be appearing at the Tour de France for the first time as Lidl-Trek – and of course will not be entering the race with discounter goods under his butt.
more transparency
The former professional, a long-time classic partner of John Degenkolb, by the way, sees the new regulations above all as an improved control option for the UCI. “In the past, they were often overwhelmed by technical developments. Many manufacturers came to the tour with new developments. By registering the material early, the UCI now has more time to check whether it also meets the specified technical standards.”he says to the sports show.
A lot is prescribed in the technical standards of the world association, from the minimum weight of the racing machines to the length of the socks, which can bring aerodynamic advantages in the single-digit watt range because of the material developed in part even for space travelers by NASA. The length of the helmets is also fixed. They must not exceed a length of 45 cm. It also marks a temporary halt to the competition for the most alien-looking time trial helmets.
The information that the teams participating in the Tour de France had to submit by June 2nd and the racing teams of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift by June 17th are extremely detailed. For frames, wheels, clothing and helmets, the brand, model and size as well as information about the manufacturer and dealer as well as the purchase price must be transmitted. Clothing goes all the way to socks and overcoats.
More Enlightenment
Bora hansgrohe’s head of technology Aldag sees all the paperwork above all as an important step in clarifying breakdowns and accidents. “I would think it would be good if there were the right to secure the material for an investigation. Sometimes you could see on video images that a bike was quickly moved to the side. If something happens or there is a justified suspicion, you have to have the material confiscate and independently examine”, demands Aldag. The new reporting obligation can therefore be an important step towards improved security.
Only one uncertainty remains: When asked by the sports show, the UCI did not want to tell whether all teams had submitted the information in good time and in full. One can only hope that the examiners on site in Bilbao will be better able to see through the wealth of information.