The UCI introduced three new measures to enhance security throughout street races on Wednesday, with refined adjustments to the 3km rule, calculating time gaps within the peloton throughout dash phases, and a brand new ‘yellow card’ system to punish repeat offenders breaking the principles throughout races.
The adjustments shall be examined in the course of the 2024 season, with “choose phases” on the Tour de France getting used as a proving floor for extra versatile bunch dash guidelines.
The yellow card system shall be applied with out sanctions this yr, however a system of elevated punishment for repeat offenders shall be on the rulebook from January 1, 2025.
All the adjustments had been based mostly on the suggestions of the SafeR venture, an impartial group answerable for analysing dangers throughout UCI WorldTour, Ladies’s WorldTour and ProSeries races and offering security recommendation.
“SafeR demonstrates that every one the biking households can work collectively to enhance security, which is prime to the way forward for our sport,” Tour de France common director Christian Prudhomme mentioned.
“These newest initiatives present that our laws can evolve as our sport continues to develop and face new challenges. With sure measures already being launched for the Tour de France, that is proof of the collaboration to enhance security inside the biking households.”
Yellow playing cards
The yellow card system will start on August 1, 2024. The UCI took care to notice the playing cards won’t be bodily objects like in soccer however shall be famous on the race communiqué in the identical method the present rule violations are famous.
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The distinction is that the UCI shall be monitoring what number of violations every member of the race convoy accumulates and hand out suspensions of as much as 30 days for a number of offences.
“A big survey carried out final yr indicated the necessity for a yellow card system in biking, which shall be examined within the coming months earlier than being applied subsequent yr,” CPA President Adam Hansen mentioned.
“These preliminary measures advisable by SafeR to the UCI exhibit that riders’ requests are being heard and acted upon. It’s essential, and we’re making vital progress on this space. There’s nonetheless a lot work to be performed, and I stay up for persevering with the stable work that has begun.”
Till January 1, 2025, the present system of docking UCI factors and fines in Swiss francs will proceed. Every violation shall be entered right into a yellow card database however no suspensions shall be handed out till subsequent yr.
The proposed punishments as soon as the system is in place are disqualification and a seven-day suspension for 2 yellow playing cards in the identical race, a 14-day suspension for 3 yellow playing cards in 30 days and a 30-day suspension for six yellow playing cards in a single yr.
Nonetheless, as soon as the punishment for a number of yellow playing cards has been accomplished, the person’s report begins clear once more.
If a rider is suspended throughout a race for accumulating a number of yellow playing cards, they are going to be ejected from the race however will get to maintain any outcomes and UCI factors gained in the course of the race.
Yellow playing cards will be handed out to riders, staff workers, drivers of race automobiles, “who may have interaction in behaviour that might jeopardise the security of the occasion. As well as, the system will intention to make all these individuals extra accountable by introducing the monitoring of dangerous conduct over time and consequently encouraging respectful behaviour.”
Rule violations that may end up in a yellow card:
- Taking off a compulsory helmet in the course of the race
- Disposing of waste exterior the litter zone
- Madison-style hand slings between teammates or riders of various groups
- Pushing off a automobile, riders pushing different riders or riders receiving repeated pushes from spectators
- Holding onto a staff automobile or getting mechanical help from a shifting automobile
- Sheltering behind the slipstream of a automobile
- Irregular feeding (sticky bottle)
- Irregular sprinting (contains bodily contact, rider deviating from their line, and so forth)
- Deviation from the race route
- Use of sidewalks/pavements/paths that aren’t a part of the race route
- Passing via a degree crossing that’s closed or within the strategy of closing
- Improper conduction (assaulting spectators or different riders, indecent behaviour)
- Vehicles/motorbikes obstructing the motion of riders or different automobiles
- Failure to adjust to commissaire directions
- Interviewing riders throughout a race (contains media automobile drivers and journalists)
- Interviewing a sports activities director over the past 10km (sports activities director, media driver, journalist)
Tour de France assessments
The UCI is trying so as to add extra flexibility to the “three-kilometre rule” that enables riders to be given the identical time because the group they had been with if they’re halted by a crash or mechanical. The gap was beforehand one kilometre however was prolonged in 2005.
Throughout the Tour de France, the UCI will take a look at extending the rule additional to 5 kilometres in addition to experiment with a most time hole between teams of three seconds fairly than one.
The distinction is roughly 50 metres between riders fairly than 17 metres and can permit non-sprinters extra room to sit down out the mayhem of a bunch gallop with out sacrificing their place within the common classification.
“Suggestions has proven that almost all of riders needed the 3km rule prolonged to cut back stress throughout hectic race finales,” Hansen mentioned.
“I’m thrilled that this shall be examined at some dash finals on the Tour de France, and I thank the UCI and ASO for permitting it.”
Race radio limits on the horizon
Race radios/earpieces additionally got here up within the press launch, with the UCI asserting it could “take a look at the results of a restriction on carrying and utilizing earpieces in races this yr” however no determination has been made on how or when the restrictions could be examined, however they used an instance of limiting earpieces to 2 riders per staff.
The UCI tried to ban earpieces in 2011, even testing a full ban in the course of the Tour de France on stage 10. Groups urged permitting two riders per staff to have earpieces however had been rejected by the UCI.
On the finish of 2011, the difficulty got here to a head with groups threatening to boycott the Tour of Beijing if the UCI did not relent in its pursuit of a full race radio ban. Finally, the UCI banned radios in lower-level races and on the World Championships.
