Female Tour de France cyclists could be disqualified over padded bras for bizarre reason
Strict new rules have been introduced for the Tour de France Femmes event, which are causing controversy.
Athletes taking steps to improve their chances are nothing new - who can forget the Winter Olympic athletes found to be padding their crotches, meaning they had to be microchipped.
Now, there are fears that female cyclists could be using extra padding in the bra region to boost their performance.
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has received reports that some riders were turning to padded chest fairing to reduce air resistance.
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It had been alleged that some cyclists were morphing their body shapes to claw ahead even with the tiniest advantage.
The UCI bans all 'non-essential items or other accessories worn by a rider that could alter their physique'.
Ahead of a race earlier this week for the time-trial stage to Dijon, competitors faced extra checks to make sure they weren't cheating with any strategically placed padding.
There's no room for shyness in sport, it seems!
By 'morphing their body shape,' it's entirely possible for a rider to improve their aerodynamics.
Following the reports, the UCI warned the athletes 24 hours before the race that for the checks, 'particular attention will be paid to compliance with article 1.3.032 of the UCI regulations, including nonessential elements and clothing or other items/accessories worn by a rider (including but not limited to helmets, glasses, shoes or in-race communication devices) which could modify riders’ morphology.'
Director of the AG Insurance-Soudal team Stijn Steels, said: “Last year, many riders filled their bust area completely with ice or other items to create a larger volume, which gives a much better aerodynamic effect. It’s only a few watts difference [in power], but a few watts matter a lot in a time trial. It’s possible and it does make a difference, but I wouldn’t risk it.”
These padded chest fairings could reduce air resistance by up to 3.6 per cent.
In other words, that could see an athlete shaving off roughly 0.78 seconds per kilometre which while it doesn't sound like much could make enough of a difference to win or lose the time trial.
At the other end of the scale, some riders prefer to compete without a sports bra at all, to improve their aerodynamics.
Some are questioning whether the measures are sexist, as it is alleged that no such clothing checks were made for the men's race.
Head of Technical and Innovation for Lidl-Trek, Koen de Kort, told The Athletic: “That's the biggest issue. You can say it's not allowed [but] how can you say how much a woman needs?...
That's time to get pretty much into a grey area of what you're allowed to check.”
Jen Thomas