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The men’s Santos Tour Down Under starts with a 5.5km prologue time trial on Tuesday, with riders looking for every marginal gain that could decide the stage winner and gain them precious seconds in the battle for overall race victory.
The UCI, teams and race organisers have agreed that the time trial will be contested on standard road bikes for race logistical reasons but that decision has highlighted a lack of clarity in the UCI rule book and so created an opportunity for teams to bend the rules and find a possible marginal gain.
Disc wheels and aero helmets will be allowed but time trial bikes and aerobars of any kind are not allowed. However after questions and debate in the pre-race meeting with teams and UCI race officials, Cyclingnews understands that riders will be allowed to go into some kind of aero tuck or ‘puppy paws’ position by racing with their forearms on the tops of the handlebars.
Rohan Dennis (Jumbo-Visma), Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) and Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) are amongst the favourites for the prologue time trial. The time trial will decide the first race leader and set-up the battle for overall victory.
A late clarification of the UCI rules for the Tour Down Under prologue was sent overnight by Michael Rogers, the UCI’s Head of Road & Innovation.
The only condition regarding the aero tuck position is that riders must also touch their brake levers or hoods with at least their finger tips to respect the UCI rules.
It is unclear how the UCI will monitor every rider during the time trial and if they will sanction anyone who is seen in the aero tuck without touching their brake hoods.
Article 1.3.008 of the UCI states: “The rider shall normally assume a sitting position on the bicycle. This position requires that the only points of support are the following: the feet on the pedals, the hands on the handlebars and the seat on the saddle.”
Teams that Cyclingnews spoke to are well aware of the aerodynamic advantages of the aero tuck position but are disappointed there is little clarity in the UCI rule book for time trials contested on road race bikes.
It also remains to be seen if riders will take the risk of going into the aero tuck positions on the twisting course. Some of the straight sections of the 5.5km course will make the aero tuck beneficial but riders will be racing at 50km/h and have had little time to test the position in training or out on the course.
The full benefits or risks of the aero tuck position…
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