Cornwall-based British Continental squad, Saint Piran, has been utilizing unmarked Chinese frames with faux UCI approval stickers utilized to them, in line with studies by Cycling Weekly.
The highest-profile UK home squad, which is run by Richard Pascoe and holds British Cycling Elite Development Team standing, has been racing on all-black, unmarked framesets bought from a Chinese producer. Fake UCI stickers had been then utilized to the seat tube in an effort to give the looks of compliance.
This state of affairs arose within the wake of a breakdown in relations between Saint Piran and its then-sponsor, Lapierre, in 2022. The dispute was reportedly over safety concerns with the fashions equipped, which Lapierre strenuously denied. It should be mentioned that no recall has been issued on the fashions in query, and no subject was reported by Lapierre’s WorldTour crew, Groupama-FDJ, on the time. The value of the declare by Saint Piran was reportedly £100,000, and resulted within the crew being with out bikes on which to race for a interval, earlier than Trek stepped in to fill the void as sponsor.
In this interim interval, the crew bought frames from a Chinese producer, dubbed the ‘Wuhan Weapon’ by riders. It seems from photos seen by Cyclingnews that the frames are from the model Lightcarbon, with the mannequin being merely named ‘Integrated Road Bike Disc Frame’, although St. Piran denies this, as an alternative solely stating that it used a ‘Chinese model’.
It is reported that Pascoe disregarded any security issues concerning non-UCI authorized framesets and accused the riders of ‘moaning’, and insisted that the frames had been UCI compliant.
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All gear utilized in UCI races should be authorized by the governing physique, therefore the necessity for stickers on frames which are compliant, and utilized on the time of manufacture. Pascoe, it’s reported, deliberate to use the stickers ‘in race’, with clear nail varnish to attain the impact, however in pictures of the stickers in query, it may be seen that the corners might be lifted up with a fingernail. There is an opportunity that the robust acetone solvent current in nail varnish might have dissolved the ink within the stickers, rendering them ineffective.
The software of UCI approval stickers by a person is in direct contravention of the foundations. UCI guidelines state ‘the fixing of the UCI frameset and UCI fork labels by personal people is forbidden’, and furthermore that the stickers should be ‘seen, indelible and inseparable from the frameset’. The stickers in query are additionally not like the present approval stickers, every of which has a code linking the frameset in query to the UCI record of authorized gear. The stickers on this case merely say ‘APPROVED’ with no such code. The UCI approval record additionally has no Lightcarbon authorized frames.
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In a press release on Instagram posted this morning, Saint Piran state: “After an in depth inspection, we are able to affirm the unbranded frames weren’t compliant with the UCI regulation course of.” It goes on to say “Saint Piran acted on the recommendation of the producer and an exterior knowledgeable and understood they had been according to UCI rules always. It seems that recommendation was incorrect. We have now reported this to the UCI and British Cycling and can abide by their ruling.”
The use of unlawful gear isn’t solely forbidden for security causes, however in an effort to stop groups or riders from gaining a bonus. In this regard, the crew states “The Frames complied with all ISO requirements and the geometry and design met UCI rules so no benefit was gained in any method.”