UCI defends gear ratio testing after investigation launched following SRAM complaint

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has issued a statement expressing its surprise after the Belgian Competition Authority announced on Friday that it had opened an investigation into the UCI’s proposed maximum gear ratio limitation for professional road cycling events following a complaint from American component manufacturer SRAM.

The investigation concerns UCI's upcoming maximum gearing test scheduled for the 2025 Tour of Guangxi (14-19 October), which was approved by the UCI Management Committee in June as a safety measure for professional cycling.

In a strongly-worded statement, the UCI described itself as "puzzled by the issuance of the Belgian Competition Authority's press release before the UCI has even been served with the complaint and by the obvious inaccuracies contained in this statement." 

“In particular, the statement does not reflect the fact that the UCI has publicly indicated that it will consider the findings of this test before considering if further tests are relevant in 2026," read the UCI's statement.

This comes in response after the Belgian Competition Authority had issued a statement of its own on Friday, stating that it 'opens an investigation into the adoption by the International Cycling Union of a technical standard limiting the maximum gear ratio allowed in professional road cycling events."

The statement also stated that it received a complaint alleging the standard "is not objectively justified on safety grounds" and "is likely to have immediate, discriminatory and disproportionate effects on the complainant, such as to distort competition in the supply of high-performance transmission systems and in teams’ participation in professional road cycling events.”

The authority confirmed that its investigation will determine if the limitation violates competition law.

The UCI emphasised that the gear ratio test, set for implementation at the Tour of Guangxi from 14-19 October 2025, is merely exploratory. The UCI stated it "has publicly indicated that it will consider the findings of this test before considering if further tests are relevant in 2026. Only then would the UCI potentially consider any changes to the regulations."

“Even more surprisingly, the release does not even deem it necessary to indicate that the test that will be conducted by the UCI is aimed at exploring measures aimed at increasing rider safety, which is a fundamental prerogative of all sport governing bodies.”

The safety measure emerged after SafeR concluded that "gearing could be contributing to excessive top speeds in certain sections of races such as downhills," according to earlier UCI communications. When announced in June, the UCI indicated that "following the implementation of tests, relevant data will be monitored and feedback from all stakeholders will be gathered to study the effects of restrictions on gearing."

The gear limitation particularly affects riders using SRAM groupsets with 54x10 gearing, who would need mechanical adjustments before races.

The UCI concluded its statement by affirming it “is confident that its proposal to test limitations to gearing is compliant with EU and Belgian competition law. It is not the role of competition law to lead to a ‘levelling down’ in regulatory and safety standards,” and that it, “shall not make any further comments on these proceedings.

The UCI also issued a second statement in response to SRAM’s complaint. It reiterated that “all its technical regulations, including the protocol for testing maximum gear ratios, are developed in the best interests of cycling, athlete safety, and fair sport,” and underlined that the protocol “does not target any specific brand or supplier, but applies uniformly to all riders in the peloton.”

The federation pointed out that the test was recommended by SafeR and supported by the majority of riders through a questionnaire, as well as by the CPA during the recent Professional Cycling Council meeting.

While stating it “remains fully open to dialogue with equipment manufacturers,” the UCI added that it “questions SRAM's objectives in opposing a test designed to assess the relevance of a safety enhancement measure, thereby undermining the necessary unity among cycling stakeholders.”