An hour before race, UCI bans new Ekoi pedals, riders forced to buy shoes at the start line
Nice Métropole Côte d'Azur team was scrambling before Stage 2 of Étoile de Bessèges
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Nice Métropole Côte d'Azur
The Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur team had a dramatic morning before the start of Stage 2 of Étoile de Bessèges when they were informed that their new Ekoi PW8 pedals were no longer legal. As reported by the French website MatosVelo, the UCI intervened just one hour before the commencement of Stage 2 in the French stage race. The governing body informed the team that they were no longer permitted to use the prototypes, even though they had utilized them on the previous day during Stage 1.
According to the report, the UCI commissaires informed the Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur team that they were no longer allowed to use the new pedals. “It seems that an application for authorization to use a prototype has been submitted,” the report read. “But it has apparently not yet been validated.”
Consequently, the riders found themselves having to replace the pedals. But, above all, they had to try to find shoes at the last minute since their hotel was more than 30 minutes away, and there was no time to go there and back.
Last minute scramble
Finding alternate pedals was not a problem. The mechanics asked other teams for loaners and quickly replaced them. The biggest challenge was finding shoes for the riders. There were Shimano/Look cleats at their hotel, but it was more than 30 minutes away, so there was no time to go there and back. The riders asked other teams for shoes, and some went as far as buying shoes at a pop-up bike store by the start. Some riders even wore shoe covers to hide their kicks since they weren’t the team-sponsored ones.
Pedals can save eight watts, apparently
The pedals were spotted by French media earlier this season. “These are new shoe pedals with a new concept, it’s an innovation that makes me dream because compared to other pedals on the market, we tested a gain of eight watts,” CEO of Ekoi Jean-Christophe Rattel told lecycle.fr. “Two years ago, the inventor came to see me and we bought the patent. He is still with us working on the project. The latter is complex because you need to make a specific shoe for this pedal. It is very close to the axis and improves traction.”
It is unclear why the UCI allowed the riders to use the new pedals on Stage 2, or why team staff decided to go ahead with the riders using them without approval. Undoubtedly this is not the last we have heard about the pedals.
