Spectacular and controversial, the new aerodynamic helmet inaugurated this week by the Visma-Lease a bike team, of Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard, raises “a notable problem” according to the International Cycling Union (UCI) which announced, Tuesday March 5, a “revision of its rules regarding the design and use of helmets in competition.”
Noting an evolution towards "ever more radical designs", the body considers that Visma's new helmet, but also those of other teams such as Bahrain Victorious, "raise a notable problem concerning the current trend (...) which aims more at performance than the primary function of a helmet, namely ensuring the safety of the wearer in the event of a fall”. The revision of the rules will therefore “ensure that they set a clear and coherent framework with the objectives sought”, added the UCI, specifying that “any modification will be communicated quickly”.
If it’s like that, “I’m resigning.”
Tuesday at Paris-Nice, the Dutch team's riders wore for the second time this extra-large chrono helmet which caused a sensation the day before during the Tirreno-Adriatico prologue. Images of Jonas Vingegaard, two-time winner of the Tour de France, wearing this impressive bulb with an aquarium visor which, optionally, resembles the nose of a wide-body plane or the head of a creature from outer space , ignited social networks.
Some runners are unconvinced by its aesthetic, like Australian Sam Welsford, who declared: if it’s like that, “I’m quitting.” “It's an excellent chrono helmet, more comfortable than others I've tried in the past,” defended Mr. Vingegaard on Tuesday at the start of the second stage of Tirreno-Adriatico, before adding: “It is different of course and I too smiled when I discovered it this winter. But we laugh less when we see how fast he is. »
In its statement announcing a reform of its rules, the UDI also announced that a helmet from the equipment manufacturer Specialized including a kind of hood can no longer be used in its official competitions from April 2, the hood being considered as a “non-essential” element. The Bora-Hansgrohe team of Primoz Roglic and the Soudal-Quick Step of Remco Evenepoel wore this balaclava helmet on Tuesday during the third stage, a team time trial around Auxerre.
