{"id":325105,"date":"2025-08-07T11:58:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T11:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/325105\/"},"modified":"2025-08-07T11:58:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T11:58:16","slug":"were-cyclists-people-should-focus-on-other-things-tom-pidcock-argues-restricting-gears-will-make-cycling-more-dangerous-and-brands-uci-safety-changes-a-smokescree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/325105\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWe\u2019re cyclists. People should focus on other things\u201d: Tom Pidcock argues restricting gears will make cycling more dangerous and brands UCI safety changes a \u201csmokescreen\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tom Pidcock has criticised the UCI\u2019s recent attempts to overhaul equipment standards<\/a>, reduce speeds, and increase safety in the professional peloton, branding the decision to introduce a gear restriction trial and a new minimum handlebar width as a \u201csmokescreen\u201d hiding \u201cmore important issues\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pidcock, who is set to make his return to road racing on Thursday at the Arctic Race of Norway after a successful summer on his mountain bike, also argued that restricting gear choice, and therefore limiting top speeds, would \u201conly make everything more dangerous\u201d by bunching the peloton together on descents.<\/p>\n

After a 2024 season marred by high-profile crashes, injuries, and tragedy, rider safety has been at the top of the pro cycling agenda this year. The build-up to the Tour de France was marked by the UCI\u2019s plans to introduce a raft of equipment changes,<\/a> ostensibly to deal with the \u201csafety implications\u201d of the increasing speed of professional races.<\/p>\n

\"JulianJulian Alaphilippe sprints for third against Wout van Aert in Carcassonne, stage 15, 2025 Tour de France (credit: Zac Williams\/SWpix.com)<\/p>\n

The new rules \u2013 most of which are set to come into effect from next January \u2013 will see time trial helmets banned in road races, a maximum rim height set, a new fork width limit introduced, and, most controversially, the implementation of a new minimum handlebar width of 400mm<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the governing body also announced that it will trial a new maximum gearing rule at the Tour of Guangxi<\/a> in China in October, in another attempt to limit top speeds in the peloton.<\/p>\n

This junior-style gear restriction, suggested by Wout van Aert earlier this year<\/a>, will cap riders at a 54×11 gear ratio on 700c wheels, potentially hitting SRAM-sponsored teams hardest, as their 10-tooth cog setup will exceed the new limit.<\/p>\n

>\u00a0UCI to trial maximum gearing rule \u2014 but will it really make racing safer?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

These proposed rules, however, have been heavily criticised across the cycling world. For instance, riders, fans, bike fitters, teams, and brands have all questioned the governing body\u2019s plans to implement a minimum width<\/a> for all riders\u2019 handlebars of 40cm, regardless of rider height or gender.<\/p>\n

\"Dauphin\u00e9Dauphin\u00e9 2025 Markus Hoelgaard UNO-X Ridley Noah Fast (3).JPG (credit: road.cc)<\/p>\n

According to the critics, this change will disproportionately impact smaller riders and the women\u2019s peloton<\/a>, many of whom use bars narrower than 40cm, not for aerodynamic gains, but simply to ride a bike set-up that fits properly, with SD Worx\u2019s European champion Lorena Wiebes arguing that the UCI is \u201cnot really thinking about our safety\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And at the start of the Tour de France in Lille, former Hour Record holder and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe\u2019s head of engineering Dan Bigham claimed that restricting gears will have no impact on speeds during races<\/a> and argued the new rules were a distraction from the real changes that could be made to improve safety in pro cycling.<\/p>\n

That argument appears to be one shared by Tom Pidcock, the double Olympic mountain bike champion telling Marca<\/a> ahead of the start of the Arctic Race of Norway that there is too much focus on rider speeds, and not on the other issues that have a greater impact on race safety.<\/p>\n

\"TomTom Pidcock, 2025 Giro d’Italia (credit: Zac Williams\/SWpix.com)<\/p>\n

\u201cLimiting gears will only make everything more dangerous. If we\u2019re all going at the same top speed, we\u2019ll be closer together, and on descents, that means we\u2019ll take up more of the road,\u201d the Q36.5 Pro Cycling leader, regarded as one of the best descenders in the peloton, told the Spanish newspaper.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe debate about handlebar width also seems like a smokescreen to me. We need to talk about the important issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pidcock also joked that if the UCI was really serious about slowing down the peloton, they should limit the amount of food riders can eat during races, Henri Desgrange-style.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told my brother that if we continue like this, they should limit carbs for everyone and put us in ketosis \u2013 then the races would be slower,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re cyclists\u2026 people should focus on other things.\u201d<\/p>\n

>\u00a0\u201cCycling is close to its Ayrton Senna moment\u201d: Dan Bigham says \u201cwe will have blood on our hands if Poga\u010dar or Van der Poel have a life-changing injury\u201d, branding UCI gear restriction trial a distraction<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The tendency for cycling\u2019s stakeholders to place the onus for safety on the riders themselves, as noted by Pidcock, has been echoed by the British star\u2019s colleagues in the peloton in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

During the Tour de France, Israel-Premier Tech\u2019s Michael Woods criticised race organisers ASO\u2019s pre-race safety presentation<\/a>, which he claimed appeared to lay most of the blame for crashes on the riders, telling them that they \u201cmust also take greater measures to reduce risks, and if they don\u2019t, they may have to be forced to wear protective equipment in the future\u201d.<\/p>\n

In a lengthy blog post, former Tour stage winner Woods also devised his own four-point plan to make cycling safer, including scrapping the relegation system, which he said increases stress, and reducing the size of the peloton, noting that the smaller bunch featured in the Olympics road race made it the safest event of last season.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the 38-year-old also argued that speeds could be lowered by restricting bike and equipment design, and that steps should be taken to \u201creduce distractions\u201d, such as the use of race radios and the modern trend of riders constantly looking at information on their bike computers.<\/p>\n

>\u00a0\u201cRoad racing is more dangerous than mountain biking,\u201d says Tom Pidcock \u2013 as fans say \u201cthat\u2019s common sense!\u201d<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Away from the sport\u2019s ongoing safety debates, Pidcock told Marca that he is confident heading into his second grand tour of the season, the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, where he will once again lead Q36.5.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old joined the second-tier Swiss team at the start of this season after four years with the Ineos Grenadiers, and got off to a spectacular start, winning two stages and the overall at the AlUla Tour and a stage of the Ruta del Sol.<\/p>\n

He then finished second to a rampant Tadej Poga\u010dar at Strade Bianche, before securing three top tens at the Ardennes Classics, including third at Fl\u00e8che Wallonne, again behind Poga\u010dar.<\/p>\n

\"TomTom Pidcock, Colle delle Finestre, 2025 Giro d\u2019Italia (credit: Zac Williams\/SWpix.com)<\/p>\n

However, his debut Giro d\u2019Italia was largely underwhelming, finishing 16th overall after losing time in the Alps, with third on stage five to Matera his best result.<\/p>\n

But after a successful, unbeaten July on the mountain bike, which included a European title in Portugal, Pidcock is optimistic he can impress over the three weeks in Spain.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can make a lot of progress at La Vuelta; I feel refreshed,\u201d he told Marca. \u201cIf I can improve a little and regain the feeling I had at the start of the season, that would be excellent.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tom Pidcock has criticised the UCI\u2019s recent attempts to overhaul equipment standards, reduce speeds, and increase safety in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179548,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4104],"tags":[4230,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-325105","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114987368768115731","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=325105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=325105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=325105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=325105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}