The Belgian Competition Authority ruling calls into question the UCI’s unilateral authority to create rules. So what’s next?
The Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) has ordered the UCI to suspend its new “Maximum Gear Ratio Standard,” a rule that would have limited the largest gear allowed in professional road races and triggered an escalating legal dispute with drivetrain manufacturer SRAM.
In a decision published Thursday, the BCA imposed urgent interim measures requiring the UCI to halt implementation of the rule, which caps gear rollout at the equivalent of a 54×11, no later than October 13, just one day before its planned debut at the Tour of Guangxi. In a statement released Thursday, the UCI agreed to do so.
The ruling marks a fascinating moment: a national competition regulator stepping into the governance of professional cycling, effectively overruling the UCI’s unilateral authority to create technical regulations. It’s a sweeping, comprehensive legal victory for SRAM with potential impacts well beyond 10-tooth cogs.
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