Riders’ union demands clarity over UCI bra checks at Tour de France Femmes

The pursuit of aerodynamic advantages in professional cycling has entered uncharted territory following a directive from the UCI jury ahead of the Tour de France Femmes time trial.

Prompted by complaints from leading teams over the use of additional bra padding to manipulate riders’ torso profiles, officials announced targeted clothing checks before the race to prevent the use of so called “chest fairings”.

The controversy, first reported by WielerFlits, centres on riders using undergarments to fill empty space at chest level, smoothing airflow and reducing drag.

Aerodynamic data highlights the scale of the potential advantage. Wind tunnel measurements suggest that optimising the torso profile can reduce overall drag by up to 3.6%, saving nearly one second per kilometre.

While Article 1.3.032 of the UCI regulations strictly prohibits non essential elements or accessories that “modify the morphology of the rider”, enforcing the rule in the women’s peloton presents significant challenges.

Stijn Steels, sports director of AG Insurance-Soudal, acknowledged the difficulty of policing the regulation in comments to HLN, while also referring to what he described as an open secret within the sport:

“During the Olympic Games in Paris, there was a female rider who suddenly had gigantic breasts.”

Faced with such discrepancies, teams have openly acknowledged testing the limits in their pursuit of marginal gains. Liselotte Delcroix, FDJ United-Suez sports director, told HLN:

“We are all looking for ‘marginal gains’. Women with larger breasts inherently have an aerodynamic advantage over women with smaller breasts. If you also wear a push up bra, that is an additional advantage.”

Rutger Tijssen of Visma | Lease a Bike also welcomed the UCI’s intervention, telling Sporza:

“If it is happening, then it is not fair. If something is not allowed, then you should not do it.”

According to WielerFlits, the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA), issued a statement in response to the UCI’s mandate requiring riders to report for final equipment and apparel checks no later than ten minutes before their start time.

In the statement, the riders’ union reportedly called for full transparency around the procedure. While stressing that it did not question the rules themselves, the CPA said: “For this reason, we believe it is essential that the checks be carried out in a professional and respectful manner that fully safeguards the dignity and privacy of every rider, in order to prevent any misunderstanding, controversy, or unpleasant situations.”

WielerFlits also reported that the CPA requested clarity on the permitted control methods and asked whether commissioners had received a written protocol. According to the union, protecting sporting integrity must go hand in hand with safeguarding riders’ dignity and personal privacy.