Hi Subscribers,
We’ve just received the following press release.
It concerns the ruling in the case in which SRAM took the UCI to court over the governing body’s proposed gear restrictions.
The case was initially launched on September 19 and submitted to the Belgian Competition Authority (“BCA”), with SRAM arguing that the UCI’s trial on ‘Maximum Gearing’, which was due to take place later this month at the Tour of Guangxi, would “unfairly disadvantage SRAM riders and SRAM”.
The brand currently supplies equipment to several WorldTour teams, including Visma-Lease a Bike, Lidl-Trek, Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe, and Movistar.
The ruling states that the UCI must “suspend immediately, and no later than 13 October, the implementation of the Maximum Gear Ratio Standard”.
The BCA ruling is presented below. This is a breaking news story, so please check the updated web version for more information.
Update: Our story also contains press releases from the UCI and SRAM following the BCA ruling.
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Informal translation of Dutch original
PRESS RELEASE
N° 41/2025
9 October 2025
The Belgian Competition Authority suspends the technical standard of the International Cycling Union limiting the maximum gear ratio allowed in professional road cycling events
On 9 October 2025, the Belgian Competition Authority (”BCA”) decided to impose interim measures aimed at suspending the technical standard adopted by the International Cycling Union (”UCI”) limiting the maximum gear ratio allowed in professional road cycling events to a transmission ratio of 54×11 (”Maximum Gear Ratio Standard”).
The BCA recognises the legitimacy and importance for a sports regulator such as the UCI to ensure the safety of athletes. However, the procedures for determining technical standards enacted for this purpose, as well as the related tests, must meet essential conditions of proportionality, objectivity, transparency and non- discrimination in view of the economic consequences of these standards. They cannot result in an undue restriction of competition between sports equipment suppliers. The BCA considers prima facie that the Maximum Gear Ratio Standard and the procedures governing its adoption by the UCI do not meet the required conditions of objectivity and transparency. The standard further generates disproportionate negative effects on a sports equipment supplier, namely SRAM.
SRAM is one of the two main suppliers of transmission systems for road bikes used by professional riders and the only one that does not currently have a product meeting the requirements of the Maximum Gear Ratio Standard. The standard, adopted under disputable conditions, is likely to cause harm to SRAM that is serious and difficult to repair, thereby justifying its suspension. The harm also extends to professional cycling teams equipped with SRAM transmission systems. Furthermore, the urgency of adopting interim measures is motivated by the first application of the Maximum Gear Ratio Standard during the Tour of Guangxi in China, starting on 14 October 2025, which closes the UCI World Tour calendar for this season.
Consequently, on a conservatory basis, the BCA has decided:
To require the UCI to suspend immediately, and no later than 13 October, the implementation of the Maximum Gear Ratio Standard;
To prohibit the UCI from imposing transmission ratio limitations or taking any other measure having the direct or indirect effect of prohibiting the use of certain types of transmission systems in any professional road cycling event governed by the UCI, either until the UCI adopts a new safety measure based on a transparent, objective and non-discriminatory procedure, or until a decision on the merits is adopted;
To require the UCI to publish, within 24 hours following the date of notification of the decision, a press release indicating that the Maximum Gear Ratio Standard is not applicable and referring to the BCA’s decision.
City Atrium T +32 2 277 52 72 info@bma-abc.be Rue du Progrès 50 http://www.belgiancompetition.be 1210 Brussels
The implementation of the interim measures adopted today will be monitored by the BCA’s Investigation and Prosecution Service. In the event of non-compliance, the imposition of penalty payments may be requested from the BCA’s Competition College, which will also arbitrate disputes concerning the interpretation of its decision. The decision will soon be published on the website of the BCA.
The Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) is an independent administrative authority that contributes to the definition and implementation of competition policy in Belgium. Concretely, the BCA pursues anti-competitive practices, such as cartels and abuses of a dominant position, and reviews the main merger operations. The BCA cooperates with the other competition authorities of the member states of the European Union and the European Commission within the European Competition Network (ECN).
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) takes note of the provisional measures ordered by the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) suspending the “Maximum Gearing Test Protocol”, which was to be implemented for the first time during the Tour of Guangxi from 14 to 19 October.
As a result of the provisional measures imposed by the ABC, the test planned for the Tour of Guangxi will not take place and the Test Protocol is currently suspended.
The UCI expresses its surprise at the intervention of a competition authority on a subject desired by all stakeholders of cycling, the scope of which was limited to analysing the effects that limiting gear ratios may have on riders’ speed and therefore on safety, especially considering that the decision is issued by a Belgian authority responding to a complaint from a US company against a Swiss sports association regarding a test to be carried out on Chinese territory.
The UCI deeply regrets that riders’ safety does not appear to be a shared objective with those who challenged the implementation of the Maximum Gearing Test Protocol before the said Authority. However, the UCI will continue to act in the interests of the safety of riders, other members of the peloton and spectators.
The UCI announces that it will appeal the above-mentioned decision. Changes may also be made to the Testing Protocol to allow for the implementation of the tests desired by all stakeholders in professional road cycling.
The UCI will not make any further comments at this stage.
SRAM welcomes today’s decision by the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) to suspend the Union Cycliste Internationale’s (UCI) proposed maximum gear restrictions ahead of the Tour of Guangxi. The College’s findings prohibit the protocol in future events as well. While the immediate restrictions have been suspended, the broader anti-trust case continues.
On October 3, SRAM participated in an emergency hearing before the Competition College of the BCA in Brussels to contest the UCI’s newly imposed gearing restriction — a rule that was fundamentally unfair to SRAM riders, teams, and SRAM itself.
The BCA initiated formal anti-trust proceedings under European and Belgian competition laws on September 17. Nine professional cycling teams voluntarily joined the process to oppose the restrictions.
At the hearing, SRAM and the teams advocated for an open, non-discriminatory, and objective rule-making process in professional cycling — one that ensures a level playing field, fosters meaningful safety improvements, and respects rider choice.
“It’s time to reshape how the sport’s key stakeholders engage. The UCI, teams and riders, sponsors, race organizers, and the cycling industry must collaborate to build a better future for the sport and its fans. The best outcomes happen when everyone has a seat at the table. We’re more optimistic than ever that through open communication and shared goals we can create a safer, more inclusive sport. Innovation and safety are not opposing forces — in fact quite the opposite. They go hand in hand. Our goal is simple: an open, transparent, and participative process that delivers meaningful safety improvements in racing, protects rider choice, and encourages innovation for the future of cycling.” — Ken Lousberg, SRAM CEO.
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