“Our priority is to maintain the integrity of the sport” – UCI launches immediate investigation into Visma’s revolutionary “control room” for 2024 Tour de France

Thursday morning, the Visma team | Lease a Bike has unveiled its revolutionary “Control Room” ahead of the 2024 Tour de France. Before the day was even out, the UCI announced an investigation into the new addition to the Visma structure.

“The International Cycling Union (UCI) is informed of the recent announcement regarding the use of a ‘Control Room’ by the UCI WorldTeam Team Visma | Lease a Bike. We are currently carrying out checks to ensure that the “The installation set up by the team complies with the regulatory framework in force, particularly in terms of data capture and transmission as provided for in article 1.3.006b of the UCI Regulations”, we can read in the press release. “Our priority is to maintain the integrity of sport, ensuring sporting fairness, equitable access to technology and the primacy of man over machine. The UCI is committed to respecting these principles and will take appropriate measures appropriate based on the findings of the investigation.”

The aforementioned Article 1.3.006b concerns on-board technology. Under UCI rules, devices that capture or transmit positioning data, still or moving images or mechanical information are permitted, as are similar devices capable of collecting data on heart rate, body temperature and perspiration. However, “the authorisation is… limited to transmission protocols that only allow the rider concerned to consult the data during a competition.”

For its part, the Visma | Mathieu Heijboer from Lease a Bike spoke about the Control Room: “We are very happy to have been able to develop the Control Room together with our innovative partners, which allows us to collect and analyze even more live data and have a better overview of the race This will allow us to assist the coaches in the car and help them make the best possible tactical decisions more quickly.