The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) takes note of the provisional measures ordered by the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) suspending the “Maximum Gearing Test Protocol”, which was to be implemented for the first time during the Tour of Guangxi from 14 to 19 October.
As a result of the provisional measures imposed by the BCA, the test planned for the Tour of Guangxi will not take place and the Test Protocol is currently suspended.
The UCI expresses its surprise at the intervention of a competition authority on a subject desired by all stakeholders of cycling, the scope of which was limited to analysing the effects that limiting gear ratios may have on riders’ speed and therefore on safety, especially considering that the decision is issued by a Belgian authority responding to a complaint from a US company against a Swiss sports association regarding a test to be carried out on Chinese territory.
The UCI deeply regrets that riders’ safety does not appear to be a shared objective with those who challenged the implementation of the Maximum Gearing Test Protocol before the said Authority. However, the UCI will continue to act in the interests of the safety of riders, other members of the peloton and spectators.
The UCI announces that it will appeal the above-mentioned decision. Changes may also be made to the Testing Protocol to allow for the implementation of the tests desired by all stakeholders in professional road cycling.
The UCI will not make any further comments at this stage.