"Our priority is to maintain the integrity of the sport" - UCI launch immediate investigation into Visma's revolutionary 'Control Room' for 2024 Tour de France

On Thursday morning, Team Visma | Lease a Bike unveiled their revolutionary 'Control Room' ahead of the 2024 Tour de France. Before the day is even done, the UCI have announced an investigation into the new addition to the Visma set up.

"The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is informed of the recent announcement concerning the use of a 'Control Room' by UCI WorldTeam Team Visma | Lease a Bike. We are currently carrying out verifications to ensure that the setup put in place by the team is compliant with the regulatory framework in force, notably regarding the capture and transmission of data as outlined in Article 1.3.006b is of the UCI Regulations," reads the official statement. "Our priority is to maintain the integrity of the sport, ensuring sporting fairness, equitable access to technology and the primacy of man over machine. The UCI is committed to upholding these principles and will take appropriate measures based on the findings of the investigation."

The priorly mentioned Article 1.3.006b, is in relation to onboard technology. According to the UCI's own rules, devices which capture or transmit data on positioning, still or moving images, or mechanical information are allowed, as are similar devices which can collect data on heart rate, body temperature and sweat rate. However, the "authorisation is... limited to transmission protocols which enable only the rider concerned to view the data during a competition".

For their part, Team Visma | Lease a Bike's Mathieu Heijboer said about the control room; "We are very happy that we were able to develop the Control Room with our innovative partners, which allows us to collect and analyse even more live data and get a better overview of the race. This will enable us to support the coaches in the car and help them make the best possible tactical decisions faster.”