The UCI are suspending the testing of disc brakes in professional cycling. Laura Mora, the press officer of the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA) or Association of Professional Cyclists confirmed the news to procycling.no.
The PCA had called for the UCI to suspend the testing of disc brakes and following on from accidents involving Nikolas Maes (Etixx-Quick Step) and Fran Ventoso (Movistar) at Paris-Roubaix at the weekend, the UCI have agreed to CPA’s request.
Earlier today, Ventoso posted a detailed, open letter providing details about his accident and his concerns with the use of disc brakes in professional cycling. The Spanish rider was left with a large gash in his leg following the incident.
“Was there really anyone who thought things like Sunday’s wouldn’t happen? Really nobody thought they were dangerous?”, Ventoso asked in his letter. “Nobody realized they can cut, they can become giant knives?”
“We’ve talked about the risks of using disc brakes for several months and had sent a letter to the UCI and the organizers to avoid such risks,” confirmed Mora. “Now we have finally been heard.”
Harald Tiedemann Hansen, President of the UCI Equipment Commission confirmed the news.
Kaboom
Well that didn’t last long…….
wow that didn’t last long
Brap done !!
absolutely correct could not agree more 🙂
Kevin Hegarty
Ian Redmond
Yvonne Doran
Will need to come up with another money spinner now!
Wouldn’t call those injuries ‘small’.
It will always happen, it’s a sport, everyone that does any form of sport takes risks, so to temp suspend is actually stopping the road discipline from progressing to what it can be
Rebecca Gibson
Seem this Tim?
There was also numerous accidents due to the inherent problems of riding on Cobbles! Should they be banned too?
As a matter of principle I won’t be entering any more professional road races. What about you Gary Simpson?
I’m retired so no biggie for the big lad
This is his left leg, side and shin, aint disc brakes on the left of the bikes – Did I read he was cycling when this happened or had he fallen off and a bike landed on top of him ?
yeah it’s from another bike in a pile up. Joking aside I do kind of get it as you don’t really get pile ups in cyclo cross so it is a bigger hazard in road cycling.
No actual evidence of the rotor causing this as of yet though?
The plot thickens…
This has really split opinion this one, people are either for it or against it, it seems.
1 Question – He was avoiding an accident and didn’t fall off – How did the outside of his left leg hit the rear dics of the bike in front and he didn’t know about it, i,m not saying its not possible or he’s lying but if he didn’t know it had happened how does he know its a disc cut
You should have your own detective tv series Gary Simpson.
Road.cc have looked at their press shots and have established there were no disc equipped bikes hear him when he crashed!!
Attention seeking Dick
Aaaahhhhh haaaaa ha!!! Brilliant.
UCI are about as much use as FIFA.
Arron, so let’s remove helmets, I mean it’s a sport, they all take risks. Helmets are aesthetically unappetizing and hold the sport back from what it should be.
That’s what you sound like dude.
I am talking about disc brakes, not helmets, why suspend there use? Accidents will happen, that is what happens in sports
This is a knee-jerk reaction. One guy. Numerous others were maimed at PR, as they are every year.
“Knee-jerk”? Are you sure that was the best phrasing, considering the injury…
Couldn’t see that coming!
What a bunch of pussies!
Gary Lynch can you explain this ?
Discs cutting up riders in crashes . They only started using disc brakes this season
Roads cut up riders when they crash ,are they going to ban roads too ?
Roads aren’t blade like . It’s not like mtb tho most crashes are pile ups on the road
Roads aren’t blade like . It’s not like mtb tho most crashes are pile ups on the road
Arron it’s about mitigating risks, your logic is that by mitigating risks (taking away disc-brakes from the peloton) you’re somehow ‘taking away from the sport,’ so by that logic we should mitigate no risk.
David Pearson
Good Call. all the best , Recovery 🙂
Ouch! Fair enough too I reckon. The risks are too high with such large pelotons.
Gavin Steele
Just aswell I ain’t a pro!
Bit of a knee jerk reaction lol I’m sure a chain ring is just as dangerous, if not more so than a disc brake rotor!
Gavin Steele hahahaah
You’re secretly jealous Jonny that you don’t have disc brakes on your road bikes!
Why are cyclist such babys. Disc are far better in every way. Put your kneecap in a spinning wheel with rim brakes and see what happens.
Typical roadies… what will they moan about next?
Roads, they should be smoother and hills should not be too steep, rabble rabble rabble!
Anyone else agree?
Gott sei dank!
Much Agreed
Jar Jar says “meesa no like disc brakes.”
totally 🙂
Craig Nicolson
Not so quick to do anything about the motorbikes that cause more injuries than disc brakes….hmmmmm
Wtf r u on mate
I am not convinced his wound was from a rotor at all for the following reasons: 1. He did not see the incident occurring. He assumes his leg was cut by the disc after he notices the wound. 2. It is his left lower leg. He did not fall off the bike, so how did the antero-lateral aspect of his left leg get cut by the rotor of another bike in front, while he was still straddled across his own? Surely this is the result of contact with the right side of the rear of another bike? 3. The wound appears to be quite jagged in the photo. Not linear as one would expect from a rotor.
You’re correct in saying that he didn’t fall off, but he was caught in a pile up in which there were bikes flying everywhere. It’s entirely plausible that a disc may have hit his leg at some point. Not our place to disprove. Seems like a strange thing to lie about.
Wayde Brown he did not lie, but came I think to the wrong conclusion. He just did not actually see the incident when it happened. So how can he say he was cut by a rotor? more likely it was a cut from a bladed spoke.
Having said that, the photo of Cancellara’s crash shows his rear wheel disconnecting from the frame and flying in mid-air…
Could it not have been the rear rotor of a bike in front?
Chaining cut.
I’v been injury more by a big F#%* OFF SERRATED EDGE CHAIN RING then my disc’s.
So one guy and we do this but multiple guys get hit by cars and motobikes and nothing is done. What a joke
Are what about the big F#%* OFF SERRATED EDGE CHAIN RAING, and are the UCI going to ban them in MTB to. Let ban riders that fall over.
Why not put a cover on top of the rotors? Indeed, I see a lot of injuries that can be caused by the exposed rotors, specially when they are hot.
Ban asphalt roads also maybe? Soft
I agree
Who else thinks is cool ?
Remove disc brakes? Assholes want more bikers killed just to make more money off their medical bills…
Waylon O’shaughnessy, I told you I didn’t like the idea in the first place
There is a lot of “for and against” here. I have been reading comments the last 2 days and I’m still not convinced otherwise.
I’d be interested to know how many accidents were avoided as a result of having brakes that still work well in wet weather. Would the benefits of this outweigh the risk of hitting a disc in a crash?
Also, surely there could be some sort of guard put over them to help prevent bad lacerations
If the riders were as vocal about all the other bike part related injuries it would surely tell a story. I’m sure bladed spokes are as dangerous.
I can see how in road biking, discs pose a danger that they just don’t in MTB. Riders are next to never side by side in MTB. When you get close to a disc turning with a wheel doing 60km/h, the thing could act like a deli slicer. To be honest though, I think that a little guard like they have on some moto trials bikes would solve the problem entirely. It’s a way smaller problem than the article is making out.
Not good.
Could see this coming all day. Road bikes don’t need disc, wait until we get reports of someone cooking the brakes failing to stop at high speed or the pads coming away from the back plates as they have done several times on several brands on my MTB’s, that will be another interesting dilemma. Nah good set of rims and pads is all that’s required. I will leave the disc brakes to my mountain bikes.