“I really think the UCI have got their priorities wrong" - Tour de France Femmes stage winner blasts recent safety changes

Recently, the UCI announced a raft of changes aimed at improving the safety of the sport and the riders in the peloton. One change in particular however, has come under fire, with a number of the leading stars in the women's peloton calling out cycling's governing body.

The change in question saw the UCI announce a limitation to the width of handlebars, setting a minimum inner width allowed at 32mm and outer at 40cm. The problem is however, whilst the change is fine in theory for the men's peloton, the UCI have failed to adjust their ruling for the women's peloton, where riders are shorter and naturally need a narrower set of handlebars.

After finishing 4th at the inaugural edition of the Copenhagen Sprint last weekend in Denmark, Team Picnic PostNL's sprint sensation Charlotte Kool risked the wrath of the UCI by publicly denouncing the organisation and their attempts at improving safety in the sport. “I really think the UCI have got their priorities wrong," began the 26-year-old stage winner at the Tour de France Femmes and La Vuelta Femenina. "I don’t think a narrow handlebar is really the problem. I really get the feeling that the UCI is always pointing to the riders or the bikes, but not the safety of the course.”

“I have to say, I think this course was quite safe, but there are races where the course is just not UCI-worthy, especially finals with lots of corners. I remember last week in the Tour of Britain, the last stage with all of the corners was really tricky,” Kool continued. “They blame the riders, but I really think that most of the time the courses are the biggest problem.”

Kool isn't the only rider to speak out either. Her sprint rival, European champion Lorena Wiebes also voiced her concerns. "I am a bit irritated that the UCI wants to do all sorts of things with the handlebars and such, but does not think about our safety in the race," Wiebes blasted. "I just hope that the UCI will pay more attention to our safety next time."