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Visma-Lease a Bike said they were “surprised” at the UCI’s decision to review the team’s new aero helmet, which was worn by the Dutch team in time trials at Tirreno-Adriatico on Monday, as well in stage three’s team time trial at Paris-Nice.
The helmet, which is manufactured by Giro, was named specifically in a statement which was released by cycling’s world governing body as it emerged that other helmets would also be included in the new review. The two other helmets named as part of the review were EF Education-EasyPost’s ‘duck-bill’ POC Tempor TT, and Bahrain-Victorious’ Rudy Project Windgream HL 85, which also made its debut on Monday at Tirreno.
“We’re working on an official statement based on our first experiences after the two time trials this week,” a spokesperson for Visma-Lease a Bike told Cycling Weekly in Auxerre.
“There’s a set of conditions that a helmet like this should meet. It’s about size, safety, everything. With those conditions, brands start designing equipment and obviously there’s a lot of money and development going into that process.”
“So it’s surprising that you make a design, all those conditions are met, and then it’s questioned again,” they added.
“The UCI acknowledges that while this [they] may not directly contravene existing UCI Regulations, it raises a significant issue concerning the current and wider trend in time trial helmet design,” the UCI spokesperson said.
The “head sock” which accompanies Specialized’s TT5 helmet is also to be banned from 2 April, the UCI has said. Both Remco Evenepoel’s Soudal Quick-Step team and Bora–Hansgrohe, the team of Primož Roglič, use that design.
Cycling Weekly contacted Bora-Hansgrohe for comment in relation to the UCI’s decision but the team did not respond.
Meanwhile, Evenepoel said that the horrendous weather conditions in the stage three team time trial, won by UAE Team Emirates, had hindered his team’s performance. He also suggested former teammate Tim Declerq impeded them on the course around Auxerre.
“We had a 20-second lead over UAE at the way point and in the stretch down you can hardly lose any time. But it’s simple: the rain fell and the wind turned,” Evenepoel told Sporza.
“He [Declerq] kept riding in front of us in a technical corner and didn’t pull over. A thank you to him. That was really nasty. Tim may have been a former teammate, but you don’t do something like that. Did he do it on purpose? I hope not, but it’s possible.”
Evenepoel later apologised for his outburst.
