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Disc brakes banned from French sportives including L'Etape du TourMerida Scultura Disc launch 2016 - 11.jpg

Disc brakes banned from French sportives including L'Etape du Tour

French federation acts after UCI suspends disc brake WorldTour trial
by Simon_MacMichael
Wed, Apr 20, 2016 11:06
68

Cyclists taking part in French sportives, including L’Etape du Tour, hugely popular among British riders, will not be able to do so on bikes equipped with disc brakes after the French cycling federation (FFC) decided to ban them.

The decision follows the UCI’s suspension of a trial of disc brakes after the Movistar rider Fran Ventoso claimed to have been badly cut by one in a crash at Paris-Roubaix. It should be pointed out that there is no conclusive proof a disc brake did indeed cause the injury.

The Spanish rider said that disc brakes, trialled at top level races since last autumn, should never have been allowed in the pro peloton, but he added that he did support their use in cyclo-cross races and by amateurs taking part in sportives.

> Fran Ventoso: Disc brakes should never have been allowed in peloton

The FFC, it seems, does not agree with that latter point, saying in a statement published on its website:

Following the decision of the UCI of 14 April 2016, the Federal Bureau decided at its meeting on 14 April 2016 to forbid the use of disc brakes on all road events organised under the umbrella of the FFC.

Besides L’Etape du Tour, which this year takes place from Megeve to Morzine on Sunday July 10, mirroring the route of Stage 20 of the Tour de France, other events affected include the Ariegoise.

Organisers of that Pyrenean cyclcosportive have reiterated the ban on disc brakes on their website, saying: “The Executive Office of L’Ariégeoise Cyclosportive will not allow the participation in his event at the cyclists equipped with disc brakes.”

> Have disc brakes really led to injuries in peloton?

disc brakes
Fran Ventoso
uci
FFC
L'Etape du YTour
l'Ariegeoise
Simon MacMichael

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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68 comments

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ianrobo replied to cdamian | 8 years ago
0 likes

cdamian wrote:

I just saw on facebook that the Catalan Cycling Federation is also considering a change.

That would be a problem for me as I am already signed up for La Ruta Minera and Gran Fondo La Mussara.

I guess I could rent a bike with rim brakes, but that means renting it for a couple of weeks to get used to the bike and the brakes.

charge them for the rent 

Avatar
Simmo72 | 8 years ago
2 likes

Agree with general view on here that this is overkill, and I am not a fan of disc brakes on road bikes at all.  This is a poor reaction and impacts many peoples plans and will incur signifcant cost.

How many mountain bikers have been injured by disc brakes?  I'm sure it happens but no one is generating mass hysteria about it.

How many club rides across the UK have resulted in a crash where a disc brake has caused a significant injury?

Next they will be banning anyone from taking one hand off the handlebars whilst riding and you can only drink at designated stopping points.

Avatar
cdamian | 8 years ago
1 like

Great, because everyone has another bike without disc brakes just for sportives.

I wonder what Shimano and the bike manufacturers have to say about this. A lot of bikes sold as "gran fondo" or "sportive" bikes now have disc brakes.

On the other hand: I see so many bikes which are not legal on sportives (three spoke wheels, tri-bars) I expect people will still use them.

Avatar
joules1975 | 8 years ago
4 likes

Have entries already been submitted and paid for these events? If yes, then the organisors must surely refund those with disc brake bikes due to the fact that the rule was not in place when the entries were placed. Could they even be liable for any other expenses (e.g. flights already booked) incurred by an entrant who is now unable to participate due to the bike they own?

Also, is there any scrutineering of bikes at the start? If not, then it's entirely possible that people could be riding bikes that are dangerous during the event. If they are going to ban discs on safety grounds then they need to ensure checks take place to catch anything else that might be dangerous (e.g. bars without plugs)

Avatar
othello replied to joules1975 | 8 years ago
0 likes

joules1975 wrote:

Also, is there any scrutineering of bikes at the start? If not, then it's entirely possible that people could be riding bikes that are dangerous during the event. If they are going to ban discs on safety grounds then they need to ensure checks take place to catch anything else that might be dangerous (e.g. bars without plugs)

 

I'm not sure how they are going to check, unless they do it as you enter the start holding pen, where they check your bike/rider number. They could bike check then, but can you imagine them trying to enforce it...

Avatar
PeterM replied to othello | 8 years ago
0 likes

othello wrote:

I'm not sure how they are going to check, unless they do it as you enter the start holding pen, where they check your bike/rider number. They could bike check then, but can you imagine them trying to enforce it...

I'm guessing they could just strip you of your number and you'd be technically no longer part of the event. It isn't a difficult thing to spot or enforce if they want to do it. Their event their rules. They're French! 1

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ianrobo | 8 years ago
7 likes

not a fan of disc brakes for the pro's but this is way OTT and will impact so many people.

This is not fair and not right as you do not have large pelotons on sportives 

Avatar
dreamlx10 replied to ianrobo | 8 years ago
0 likes

ianrobo wrote:

not a fan of disc brakes for the pro's but this is way OTT and will impact so many people.

This is not fair and not right as you do not have large pelotons on sportives 

 

They don't have any kind of peloton in a sportive. They have pelotons in proffesional racing, but only in France. Sportives have large groups of gringos

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