The peloton on the Tour Down Beneath are adjusting to a slew of latest UCI guidelines for 2025, most notably a provision that restricts meals and water hand-ups to designated feed zones and from staff automobiles within the convoy.
Whereas race organisers and groups seemed to be blindsided by the rule, which was revealed on December 23, 2024, groups affiliation president Brent Copeland clarified the rationale behind the rule to Cyclingnews.
“It has been an ongoing dialogue for fairly some time now inside SafeR, the place I am representing because the AIGCP president on the SafeR fee, in addition to being concerned in case administration on the SafeR supervisory board,” Copeland mentioned.
Whereas water hand-ups exterior of feed zones had been allowed underneath UCI guidelines earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic, the apply exploded during the last 4 seasons as groups got extra leeway underneath loosened guidelines designed to permit for social distancing.
One results of the scattered water factors has been staff workers scrambling to get from one level to the following, creating an unintended hazard.
“Many individuals do not see what occurs when the soigneurs, medical doctors, mechanics or whoever is being instructed to do a water level, how they’re leapfrogging from one level to the opposite and what occurs exterior of the race surroundings,” Copeland defined to Cyclingnews.
“If the group comes previous and so they’re actually going quick, you must look ahead to the dropped group to get bottles, [then] soar within the automotive and race to the following one earlier than the group goes previous. We have heard of and seen a number of dashing, a number of reckless driving, and we dread the day {that a} horrible accident occurs exterior of it.
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“We’re making an attempt to keep away from all of those elements inside purpose and clearly, the precedence is the security and wellbeing of the riders, with out having them going into dehydration, and utilizing frequent sense when there are sizzling days.”
Whereas the brand new rule brought on the Tour Down Beneath organisers some stress looking for assets so as to add further feed zones, groups have discovered the UCI to be versatile in permitting extra water factors up to now.
Copeland says the stricter guidelines will take pleasure in leveling the enjoying subject along with enhancing security on and off target.
“There are very excessive price range groups that use the water factors for particular causes [and] there are the decrease price range groups that sadly haven’t got the assets to do as many water factors, so [we are] making an attempt to only steadiness that out with out going to extremes.”
He added that riders who turned skilled after the pandemic will now must be taught a talent that was second nature for execs – going again to the staff automotive to get bottles after which using again by means of the group.
That circulate of riders going backwards and forwards to the convoy, Copeland says, adjustments the dynamic within the peloton. It is likely to be counterintuitive to recommend that extra riders within the convoy might be safer, however Copeland explains, “In case you get the riders going again to the autos, you get circulate of the peloton, whereas, with the water factors, it is actually stagnant. The riders discover themselves within the prime 20 place … and so they by no means return to the automotive. So they do not acquire that have as a extra skilled rider would have of going by means of the peloton.”
Riders nonetheless may need an opportunity to get hand-ups from the roadside exterior of the feed zone, however the brand new guidelines additionally require anybody doing hand-ups to be UCI licensed, which is one other security consideration.
“It appears simple to present a bottle, however when a rider comes previous at 60 kilometres an hour … you have to know what to do.
“So we’re making an attempt to make it as secure as potential, and perceive that there are … a number of riders which have turned (professional) recent in the previous few years who’ve by no means recognized a unique approach.”