Has the UCI just banned Vingegaard’s Paris-Nice trick?

When the Visma | Lease a Bike rider won in miserable weather, he did so wearing long tights over his race kit, with the bib straps visible over his jersey. 

There was a practical reason for it. The tights had reportedly been altered before the start, with the chamois removed and the legs prepared so they could be ripped off quickly before the finale. That gave him an extra layer against the cold early on, without having to stop or change clothes.

The idea reportedly came from Victor Campenaerts, one of the peloton’s great tinkerers. According to the Belgian’s entourage, Campenaerts had removed the chamois from the tights stitch by stitch before the start, turning a standard winter layer into something far more specific.

That final part of the plan never happened. The race was already on, no teammate was close enough, and Vingegaard rode to victory in one of the most unusual looks of the season.

Now, a UCI memorandum dated 8 June 2026 appears to target exactly that kind of improvisation. The new measures are set to come into force on 1 July. Under article 3.2.2, the governing body lists the use of non compliant accessories and “non authorised modification to clothing” as sanctionable. The examples include rain jackets, sleeves and jerseys, with penalties ranging from fines to UCI points deductions, time penalties or relegation.

The rule does not ban riders from dressing for bad weather. It does, however, raise an obvious question about clothing that has been deliberately modified for race use.

Wearing tights in bad weather is normal. Cutting the pad out and preparing the legs so they can come off during the race is harder to treat as just clothing.

Vingegaard will not be punished retroactively. But his stage 4 Paris-Nice outfit has suddenly become the perfect example of what the UCI seems keen to prevent.