“It’s a bullshit rule”: Victor Campenaerts slams UCI’s ban on “extreme” angled brake levers

The UCI’s recent decision to clamp down on the pro peloton’s increasingly widespread use of tilted-in brake levers, a move the governing body says is based on safety concerns, has been described by Victor Campenaerts, one of cycling’s most renowned proponents of the extremely narrow aero position, as “bullshit”.

The former Hour Record holder and breakaway specialist has also criticised the legal ambiguity now surrounding what the UCI has loosely termed the “extreme inward inclination of brake levers”, arguing that aero gain-hunting riders will now simply seek out loopholes, such as the use of flared handlebars, to achieve a similar position.

Last month, at its annual seminar in Lausanne for stakeholders of the men’s and women’s World Tours, the sport’s governing body announced that it is currently working with the cycling industry to “create a clear regulation concerning the extreme inward inclination of brake levers”.

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The move came less than a year after the UCI initially launched its attempt to halt the seemingly relentless (and controversial) march of ultra-narrow road racing aero set-ups – pioneered at the professional level by the boundary-pushing and aesthetically-divisive Dutchman Jan Willem Van Schip – by restricting the minimum overall width of traditional handlebars to 350mm.

And in its December statement, the governing body said its decision to clamp down on the latest aero trend of aggressively inverted brake levers, even used by the likes of Tadej Pogačar, was based on safety concerns raised by the apparent limited braking power of such set-ups.

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“Restrictions” on handlebar set-up are due to come into play at the start of this road racing season, the UCI said, before new regulations are formally introduced in 2025, when commissaires will be given a measuring tool to ensure that brake levers are in keeping with the manufacturer’s guidelines.

“Positioning the levers with an extreme inclination limits the braking capacity of the riders and constitutes a modification of the product beyond its intended use,” the UCI’s statement said.

“Such positioning will be restricted in 2024. In 2025, new regulations will come into force requiring compliance with the installation guidelines established by brake lever manufacturers.”

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However, the ambiguous wording in the governing body’s statement – as yet, no detail has been provided regarding the maximum angle permitted for brake levers this season, or whether the legality of each rider’s set-up will be open to interpretation by the relevant commissaire – has been questioned by Lotto Dstny’s Belgian veteran Campenaerts, who has forged a reputation for interesting and novel tech choices in recent years.

(A.S.O./Charly Lopez)

“It’s quite difficult. Because the rules are very unclear,” the 32-year-old told Cyclingnews at the Belgian squad’s 2024 team presentation this week.

Campenaerts also suggested that, in a bid to get around the new rule, riders could begin using narrow variations on the flared drop bars common in gravel and beach racing, enabling the use of tilted-in levers that remain parallel with the drops.

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“It seems like if you want to, you can ride with beach race handlebars and still ride with your brake levers [at an angle]. It makes no sense at all,” he said.

“I do understand that people think or see the danger of riders riding with brake levers like this, but it was not banned for a long time. Now they ban it, but they also don’t ban it.

“I think the result will be that we will see a lot of beach racing handlebars in the peloton to just get around the rule. To me, it’s simply a bullshit rule.”