No longer even a last-minute apparatus ban may just forestall Josh Tarling from profitable Tuesday’s time trial on the UAE Excursion, albeit with a unique visor than deliberate.
Initially reported by way of Velo, the race jury issued a understand lower than 24 hours earlier than the degree, prohibiting using the flared Kask Aero Professional Visor.
The jury conversation learn: “The Commissaires Panel informs all Sports Directors that the Equipment Commission of the UCI prohibits the use of the following kinds of visors of the following brand, Kask.
“Therefore, the riders who do not have a different helmet shall take the start without those visors for tomorrow’s stage.”
Approached for remark at the visor’s ban, a Kask spokesperson instructed Biking Weekly: “We received the communication from the UCI regarding the ban of the KASK Aero Pro Visor and KASK Aero Pro Visor 2.0 less than 24 hours before the time trial at the UAE Tour.
“Despite the very short notice, we took immediate action to comply with this communication, working closely with the race commissioners. We have always supported the UCI and complied with their regulations, and we always will.”
Tarling, and his Ineos Grenadiers teammates, ended up the use of same old visors with their Kask Bambino TT helmets, which the staff had handy. The visors are designed to glue magnetically, creating a change simple to hold out.
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“We found a good resolution,” mentioned Oli Cookson, Ineos Grenadiers sports activities director, “especially with the chief commissaire here, who’s been incredible working with us.
“We’re always looking to work within the rules and also to push the sport forward, and that will be with our sponsors and materials as well. I think there’s always that balance.”
Kask at the start introduced its Aero Professional Visor in 2022, earlier than redesigning it for 2024, with better flared wings. In line with the logo, the brand new design “further reduce[s] aerodynamic drag compared to previous versions”.
It was once used eventually 12 months’s Giro d’Italia, Excursion de France and Vuelta a España, without a proceedings from the commissaires.
When the overdue choice was once introduced to prohibit the visor on the UAE Excursion, Ineos Grenadiers confronted a scramble to reconfigure their set-ups. “Let’s just say we were the swan’s legs, and the riders were the swan above the water,” Cookson mentioned.
“Everything was managed around that. There’s a lot of good people in the team, and we had options in place.”
The UCI issued a clampdown on helmet designs final 12 months, banning the ‘head sock’ built-in into Specialised’s TT5 helmet. This was once accomplished in step with legislation 1.3.033, which prohibits “non-essential” elements.
The whole rule reads: “Items of clothing may not modify the morphology of the rider and any non-essential element or device, of which the purpose is not exclusively that of clothing or protection, is forbidden.”
The UCI additionally introduced in March final 12 months that it could adopt a evaluate of its laws round helmet design, in mild of a “significant issue” wherein producers have been focusing “more on performance than the primary function of a helmet”. No replace has been launched.
