Cyclists at the Tour de France were suspected of artificial breast augmentation

The participants of the women's Tour de France will be tested for the use of padding in sports bras in order to gain an aerodynamic advantage. This was announced on August 4 by the WielerFlits portal.

The test will be conducted before the individual race with a separate start for 21 km between Gevreux-Chambertin and Dijon. The teams were warned that the athletes must pass bike and equipment control no later than 10 minutes before the start. The clothes will be examined by a female member of the jury of the International Cycling Union (UCI).

The reason was complaints from several WorldTeam women's teams. According to them, some female racers allegedly use the padding to visually enlarge their breasts and change the air flow around their bodies.

The UCI recalled that clothing and accessories should not artificially change an athlete's physique. Particular attention will be paid to compliance with article 1.3.032 of the regulations, which prohibits the use of objects that can affect body shape and aerodynamics.

Bert Blocken, a professor of aerodynamics at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland and Lappeenranta University of Technology in Finland, called this practice unacceptable in a conversation with the portal.

"We are talking about the so-called "chest fairing", which changes the airflow around the body and reduces pressure on the hips. As a result, the rider experiences less air resistance," he explained.

According to the expert, at a distance of 20-30 km, such a modification can provide a gain in a few seconds. Earlier studies have shown that an object of optimal shape in the chest area can reduce air resistance by up to 3.6%, which corresponds to an advantage of at least 0.78 seconds per kilometer, writes WielerFlits.

For violation of articles 1.3.032 and 1.3.033 of the regulations, an athlete may be removed from the race or her result may be annulled. A fine of 200 to 1 thousand Swiss francs (about 20 thousand to 100 thousand rubles) is also provided.

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