Visma-Lease a Bike has been forced to abandon its in-race tire pressure system after a last-minute ruling from the UCI, a move the team says came without warning, according to WielerFlits.
The team had been using the Gravaa system throughout the cobbled races. Most recently, the Dutch team used them at the Grand Prix de Denain. That, however, has changed rapidement. “We received a letter, without prior announcement that this was coming,” Visma’s head of performance Mathieu Heijboer said on the In de Waaier podcast.
UCI concerned about commercial availability
The explanation from the UCI centres on uncertainty around the system’s availability after the company behind it went bankrupt. While operations have since resumed, Heijboer said the governing body now doubts whether it meets the requirement of being commercially available. That explains the big ole ban for the rest of the season. Basically, if pros want to use a product, it needs to be something you can buy. That’s why sometimes you’ll see a crazy fast track frame sold for $50,000, even though no one would ever buy it. It’s just to appease the rules so that a national team can use it at the world championships.
Visma won’t appeal, but questions UCI
That reasoning hasn’t entirely convinced the team. Heijboer described the situation as “a bit of a vague story.” He said that the rules around availability haven’t changed and the system is still on the market.
An appeal was considered, they figured it’s not worth it.
Both the men’s and women’s Paris-Roubaix goes down on Sunday, and it’s gonna be a gooder. It’s the toughest one day race of the year, and we cycling fans are in for a treat. (The riders, are not.) In the men’s, Tadej Pogacar is trying to do the impossible and take the win, which would complete his Monument sweep, something unheard of in the modern era. It’s also unheard of by a rider of his size–Roubaix is meant for the big riders, Mathieu van der Poel, Mads Pedersen, those kinds. So far, one Canuck is racing, NSN’s Guillaume Boivin. It’s been a few years since he finished 9th, but what a race that was!
Canadians racing at Paris-Roubaix
Startlists are still being finalized for both the men’s and women’s. But it’s safe to predict St Michel – Preference Home – Auber93 will have national champ, and former winner, Alison Jackson on the roster. The junior and under-23 men are also racing. Canada’s Justin Picoux (Team COPPI – BO.Buro) is there for the espoirs, along with Toronto’s Ashlin Barry (Visma-Lease a Bike.) Barry, who races on the Continental team but has also made a few appearances with the WorldTour squad—including a strong recent ride at Grand Prix de Denain, a.k.a. the ‘Mini Paris-Roubaix’ Heijboer referenced—has made this race a major target for the season. He did well at the junior version, and excels on tough, cobbled races.
You can catch both the men’s and women’s races on Flobikes.com. Canadian Cycling Magazine will also be sure to report on the junior and under-23 races too, even if you can’t watch them.