UCI Warns of Checks for Illegal Bra Doping at the Tour de France Femmes

The UCI reacted fast to the peloton’s fears of controversial bra-doping practices at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

The governing body’s commissaires used their stage 3 jury report Monday night to warn riders of pre-race checks for illegal aero modifications to clothing in Tuesday’s crucial 21km TT.

Welerflits first reported Sunday that several teams at the Tour de France Femmes had voiced concerns of rivals wearing oversized bras stuffed with padding to create an aerodynamic “chest fairing.”

Velo followed up with an explainer of this significant illicit hack, here.

Extra tests planned for Tour de France Femmes stage 4 time trial

The UCI’s post-race report Monday hinted riders will be subject to checks by officials that extend beyond routine pre-stage tests for bike weight, helmet dimensions, and handlebar sizing.

It’s almost unheard of for the governing body to explicitly call out additional or extended pre-race testing procedures.

“Pre-Checks on riders’ equipment (race and spare bikes, their respective accessories and devices) will be carried out by the two appointed UCI Technical Commissaires Sandro Coccioni and Alexandre Nouhaud with the support of Magali Barbe for the check of the jersey at the start area according to the following timetable,” read the note.

Wielerflits reported at the weekend that teams were pushing for a female official to conduct pre-stage bra-boosting checks ahead of Tuesday’s time trial. The commissaire would check clothing for unnecessary padding in the bra or beneath the skinsuit.

Tuesday’s 21km test is considered to be the first true test of the yellow jersey favorites at this Tour de France Femmes.

Judging by the commissaire report Monday, the UCI might have gotten the memo ahead of his crucial GC showdown.

“Particular attention will be paid to compliance with article 1.3.032 of the UCI regulations, including non-essential elements and clothing or other items/accessories worn by a rider (including but not limited to helmets, glasses, shoes or in-race communication devices) which could modify riders’ morphology,” read the stage 3 jury report.

Severe sanctions for riders abusing their cup sizes

Riders have been looking for workarounds to the UCI’s prohibition of items which modify morphology (i.e., body shape) for years.

Racers initially used race radios wrapped in extra padding stuffed down the front of their jerseys to smooth airflow over the thighs. Some riders pushed further by using water bottles or bundles of unnecessary sports nutrition.

More recently, the practice was noticed in the women’s peloton.

Several riders are believed to have stuffed out their bras in marquee time trials, including the 2024 Olympics and 2025 Giro Women.

The UCI recently moved to clamp down on the use of jersey pockets to create illegal chest fairings. However, the practice of bra-boosting was largely left unpoliced – until now.

Riders who are found to have fallen foul of UCI rules on Tuesday at the Tour de France Femmes face monetary penalties of varying amounts and the deduction of UCI points.

If cases are considered extreme, jurors may DQ them altogether.