The test of the UCI's new Maximum Gear Ratio standard which was set to unfold at the Tour of Guangxi, which starts on Tuesday, has been suspended after interim measures were imposed by the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA).
The move comes after the US component group SRAM last month said it had filed a complaint with the BCA, triggering an investigation by the anti-trust authority to "determine whether the adoption of the ‘Maximum Gearing’ technical standard by the UCI amounts to an anticompetitive decision".
The BCA on Thursday said there was an urgency which led to the adoption of the interim measure, given the first application of the standard was due to take place on October 14, with the test at the final WorldTour race of the season in China.
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"The BCA recognises the legitimacy and importance for a sports regulator such as the UCI to ensure the safety of athletes. However, the procedures for determining technical standards enacted for this purpose, as well as the related tests, must meet essential conditions of proportionality, objectivity, transparency and nondiscrimination in view of the economic consequences of these standards," said the competition authority in a statement released on Thursday. "They cannot result in an undue restriction of competition between sports equipment suppliers.
"The BCA considers prima facie that the Maximum Gear Ratio Standard and the procedures governing its adoption by the UCI do not meet the required conditions of objectivity and transparency. The standard further generates disproportionate negative effects on a sports equipment supplier, namely SRAM."
The looming restriction in effect prohibits anything equivalent to or exceeding a 54x10t drivetrain. SRAM is the only groupset manufacturer to offer a 10-tooth sprocket, so is the only brand affected by the new rules.
"The standard, adopted under disputable conditions, is likely to cause harm to SRAM that is serious and difficult to repair, thereby justifying its suspension," said the BCA. "The harm also extends to professional cycling teams equipped with SRAM transmission systems."
The UCI quickly responded with a release confirming that, as a result of the provisional measures, the test of the new standard planned for the Tour of Guangxi would not take place but added it would be launching an appeal.
"The UCI expresses its surprise at the intervention of a competition authority on a subject desired by all stakeholders of cycling, the scope of which was limited to analysing the effects that limiting gear ratios may have on riders’ speed and therefore on safety, especially considering that the decision is issued by a Belgian authority responding to a complaint from a US company against a Swiss sports association regarding a test to be carried out on Chinese territory," said the UCI in a statement.
"The UCI deeply regrets that riders’ safety does not appear to be a shared objective with those who challenged the implementation of the Maximum Gearing Test Protocol before the said Authority. However, the UCI will continue to act in the interests of the safety of riders, other members of the peloton and spectators."
The sport governing body also added that changes may be made to the testing protocol to allow for implementation of the tests.
