The UCI has banned the ingenious technological system for controlling tire pressure during racing that Wout Van Aert wanted to use on Sunday at Roubaix. His team, Visma-Lease a Bike, is baffled by the logic and timing, and is protesting: "This is no coincidence".

With that device from the Gravaa company, Visma riders could regulate tire pressure during the race. Deflating the tires just before the cobbled section and inflating them again once they had crossed the stones and returned to asphalt: an idea that sounded like music to the ears of anyone who had ever tackled the pavé with over-inflated tires. Gravaa made it possible, and Van Aert had already used it on the iconic cobbles of the Hell of the North, explaining that it had worked "flawlessly". Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, the French rider from the Visma-Lease a Bike women's team and winner of the women's Roubaix in 2025, had praised the system: "It made an enormous difference and it's fantastic to have it as an advantage over the competition".

However, Gravaa was declared bankrupt by a Dutch court in January. Among the reasons cited was the difficulty in keeping the price low: 4,000 euros for a complete system, 3,000 euros with a more economical wheel set. An expensive system, therefore, and difficult to sell to the general public. Now comes the UCI's decision to ban it. "The surprise will be that we won't be implementing an innovation - said Mathieu Heijboer, head of performance at Visma -. As you know, we've been working with the Gravaa system for the last two years, we further developed it and thoroughly tested it over the winter. However, two weeks ago we received a letter announcing the ban from the UCI. So everything stops abruptly".

The Dutch team is not satisfied with the International Cycling Union's reasoning. "It's a rather vague story, we received no announcement about it, there was just that letter. In fact, we even raced the GP Denain with the system; as far as we know, we could have won with Per Strand Hagenes (overtaken by Segaert in the final, ed. note). The reason given is that the company went bankrupt. Shortly after there was a recovery, but because of the entire situation, the UCI doubts its commercial viability and they said: we're banning it for the rest of the year".

According to Heijboer, this reasoning makes no sense because the system is commercially available. "You can order one if you want – continues the Dutch technician -. We asked for clarification on this. Furthermore, there is no rule that requires a tire to be available two weeks or two months in advance. The moment of registration is the race, and if a tire is commercially available at that moment, then the rules are respected. And these rules haven't suddenly changed. So you can understand that we were completely baffled. However, the communication arrived with so little notice that we can only accept it. Will we appeal? We've thought about it, but that also involves a whole procedure. And given our previous experiences, we don't believe we have any chance of success with so little notice".

The timing is certainly singular, right before Roubaix. "I can't read the UCI's mind – Heijboer continues -, but it's a far too suspicious coincidence. Especially because the GP Denain is the most important cobbled race after Roubaix. It's also our last competitive test, and at that moment there was nothing wrong. But then, suddenly, right before Roubaix… It's no coincidence. Over the last two weeks, our mechanics have prepared hundreds of wheel sets, so you can't postpone everything until Saturday before Roubaix. Right after that letter, we decided to limit the damage; we won't race with this system. Does this reduce Van Aert's chances? Yes. And it's a real shame that now, suddenly, it's no longer allowed for unclear reasons...".