Going forward into the 2024 season, the UCI has announced plans to crack down on the riders' brake lever positioning. Pointing inwards for aerodynamic gain is set to be much more heavily regulated.
"Positioning the levers with an extreme inclination limits the braking capacity of the riders and constitutes a modification of the product beyond its intended use," explains the UCI in a statement. "Such positioning will be restricted in 2024. In 2025, new regulations will come into force requiring compliance with the installation guidelines established by brake lever manufacturers."
“Turning your levers in is ridiculous and dangerous and stupid,” an anonymous source has told Cycling Weekly. “It’s a safety thing, basically. If you turn your levers in at 90 degrees, like some of these juniors are doing, you cannot reach the brakes, you cannot change gear. Yes, you might have a very nice aero-looking position when you’re on the hoods, but the rest of the time, you can’t climb safely, you can’t hit the brakes properly.”
“I feel as though this is a perception issue that will trickle down to the more susceptible-to-influence juniors,” they said. “If you’ve got an entire field of juniors doing this, it’s going to be a complete nightmare, and people are going to hurt themselves. For the UCI to crack down on something that people might do, which is less safe, before there’s an issue, I think is a good thing.”
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
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parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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One small thing from this is turning the brake hoods+levers inwards for aero gains is to be regulated, can come at risk of braking performance...
Stakeholders of UCI Women’s WorldTour and UCI WorldTour gather at their annual seminar - bit.ly/3v5lmEg
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