3 violations that will get the UCI fashion police on your case

Cycling’s governing body, the UCI, enforces a series of rules and regulations at it’s sanctioned events across disciplines to keep the playing field level and fair for all. Some of these rules are clear and widely understood like the type of bike you are allowed to ride, the sports anti-doping policy and the structure of events. Other rules are focused on infractions that athletes and spectators might understand a bit less. Apparel is a big part of cycling and as fuch is regulated by the UCI. Here are three ways the UCI fashion police enforcing the law:

Sock height at the UCI road world championships

#Yorkshire2019 – Remco Evenepoel vs sock length rule: he had to pull down socks before start, he pulled them back immediately after start. pic.twitter.com/EQCwIWqhG8

— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) September 25, 2019

Supposedly, a pressing concern for UCI officials at the UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire is sock height. There’s been a lot of scrutiny on the socks of riders participating in the individual time trials with officials utilizing specialized devices to ensure the rules were not being broken. The UCI fashion police were on high alert when Remco Evenpoel rolled up to the start gate. According to reports, his socks were too high and he was told to pull them down. During the event, the 19-year-old who would go on to claim silver was seen making adjustments to his feet. While Evenpoel later qualified that he was adjusting his shoe, immediate speculation was that he was thumbing his nose at the UCI’s sock rule. The UCI rule states, “Socks and overshoes used in competition may not rise above the height defined by half the distance between the middle of the lateral malleolus and the middle of the fibula head.”

UCI’s tight regulations for downhill clothes

Skinsuits in races against the clock in road cycling are allowed, though there are regulations. In downhill mountain biking they are explicitly forbidden along with any clothing that is lycra or elastane based that fits tightly. Sure, baggy clothing is more fashionable than a tight onesie but in a race where fractions of a second count it seems a little counterintuitive that you have to wear clothing that isn’t doing you any favours. Racers are allowed to wear tailored and custom cut clothes that fit tight but the downhill fashion police have decided looking cool is more important than going as fast as possible. Roll up to the startline for world championships qualifying in something that looks too speedy and you risk a fine or worse.

Maghalie Rochette’s World Cup leader’s skinsuit

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Tomorrow I’ll be lining up for the 2nd round of the World Cup, while wearing an all new suit. I’ll be wearing and ALL WHITE World Cup Leader skinsuit. I learnt this week that there is a UCI rule stating that if you don’t race for a UCI registered team, you can’t put logos on the leader’s suit. To be a UCI registered team, we would need to be at least 3 riders on the team (which also means having more staff, vehicles, equipment, etc.) as well as paying a significant fee. Right now, with our small program, we would not have the ressources to do that properly. ??‍♀️ So although I’ll be all white tomorrow, please know that there is NO WAY I could have won that jersey if it wasn’t for the support of ALL my partners. SO I’m asking you to play a game with me tomorrow!!! ? As I’m riding around with that white suit, please use your imagination and imagine me wearing HUGE Specialized and Feedback Sports logos!!!! ???? Either way, we found an alternative solution to represent that may make you laugh tomorrow ? I’m super excited to wear that suit and to line up tomorrow – and mostly, I’m excited to represent my partners the best way I can, even if you can’t see their logos ?? @feedbacksports @iamspecialized #hotelroompicture

A post shared by Maghalie Rochette (@maghroch) on Sep 21, 2019 at 3:41pm PDT

Just because cyclocross is one of cycling’s smaller disciplines does not mean it’s not heavily regulated by the UCI. Canadian champion Maghalie Rochette learnt this the hard way ahead of the second round of the UCI World Cup in Waterloo, Wisconsin when the fashion police came knocking. The Canadian races on a one women team, with her partner David Gagnon her main support personel throughout the season. The team allows her to race the North American calendar and commit to some substantial stints in Europe. Despite being the Pan American champion, it’s a very small operation and not a UCI registered outfit. This meant that when she won the opening round of the World Cup, the UCI did not allow her to show her sponsors logos on the white leader’s skinsuit. Instead, Rochette tattoed logos onto her skin to acknowledge the invaluable support of her sponsors.