Ahead of Stage 4 of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes last month, riders encountered an addition to the familiar pre-time-trial ritual of bike measurements and equipment checks: officials were paying particular attention to their chests.
Several Women’s WorldTour teams had reportedly complained that riders appeared to have greater chest volume in time trials than in road stages. The suspicion was that some competitors were using padding, ice or other material underneath their skinsuits to effectively create a “chest fairing” for an aerodynamic advantage.
The UCI regulations, specifically Article 1.3.032, state that clothing and accessories may n
