Wed, August 05, 2026
Tour de France Femmes cyclists face extra checks for padded chest fairings which allow riders to improve aerodynamics
Tour de France Femmes cyclists are facing extra checks for padded chest fairings, which are worn on riders’ chests to reduce air resistance, after the UCI received reports that some riders appeared to be morphing their body shapes.
Chest fairings violate Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) rules. Specifically, “non-essential items or other accessories worn by a rider that could alter their physique” are banned by the UCI. The cyclists faced extra checks before the race’s time-trial stage to Dijon, which took place on Tuesday, 4 August 2026 and was Stage 4 of the race.
Extra checks were undertaken during this stage as the UCI received reports that some riders appeared to be morphing their body shapes to improve their aerodynamics. This prompted the UCI jury to make an announcement on Monday evening, less than 24 hours before the time-trial, which explained that when checks are undertaken around ten minutes before the start of the time-trial, “particular attention will be paid to compliance with article 1.3.032 of the UCI regulations, including nonessential 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.”
Director of the AG Insurance-Soudal team, Belgian professional women’s cycling team, Stijn Steels, voiced: “Last year, many riders filled their bust area completely with ice or other items to create a larger volume, which gives a much better aerodynamic effect. It’s only a few watts difference [in power], but a few watts matter a lot in a time trial. It’s possible and it does make a difference, but I wouldn’t risk it.”
Research conducted by Bert Blocken, a professor of aerodynamics, revealed that chest fairings could reduce air resistance by up to 3.6 per cent, which would translate to a saving of at least 0.78 seconds per kilometre and therefore could “decide who wins or loses a time-trial.” That said, some riders have also been known to race without a sports bra to improve aerodynamics because it compresses the breasts.
Manager of FDJ-Suez, French professional women’s cycling team, Stephen Delcourt, expressed: “We never play with the rules like this. If they want to have controls for this, it’s because someone is doing it. Every season everybody does more work in wind tunnels and looks at equipment from the handlebars, the bike, the helmet. But we don’t play with the rules, we are always transparent.”
Dutch cyclist and former world champion, Marianne Vos, spoke positively of the checks, as long as they are not too intrusive: “I don’t think it’s really body searching, so I don’t have a problem with it, as long as it’s not too invasive.”
German former professional cyclist, Rolf Aldag, supported this: “If we question it due to the privacy of an athlete, then you have to skip doping controls too, which we all agree that we should not do. It’s the same rule for the men and they would also be checked. I think there’s nothing wrong with that.”
However, some critics have stated that the UCI’s directive to introduce extra checks could be seen as sexist, since, reportedly, no clothing checks were undertaken during Stage 16 of the men’s Tour de France. Male Dutch cyclist, Jan-Willem van Schip, was recently disqualified for placing a water bottle inside the front of his racing jersey to alter his body shape and improve his aerodynamics.
Additionally, Head of Technical and Innovation for Lidl-Trek, professional road cycling team, Koen de Kort, expressed concerns about policing the regulation. He told The Athletic: “That's the biggest issue. You can say it's not allowed [but] how can you say how much a woman needs?...
That's time to get pretty much into a grey area of what you're allowed to check.”
A similar case of gaining an aerodynamic advantage relates to the Norwegian Ski Jumping Team where the Head Coach, Assistant Coach and Suit Technician each received an 18-month period of ineligibility and fines of CHF 5,000 for suit tampering.
Additionally, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) previously undertook an investigation following reports that ski jumpers were injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid, which is not banned in sport, to gain an advantage at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games, dubbed Penis-gate.
Enlarging penis size using hyaluronic acid - or also by allegedly putting clay in underwear – enables an athlete’s body dimension to be larger, which means that a larger ski suit is created for the athlete, and as Associate Professor Dan Dwyer told The Guardian: “that slightly larger ski suit has a larger surface area which can then generate a small amount of extra lift.”
