Anyone who remembers cycling’s doping scandals knows that it’s a highly competitive sport in which every athlete is trying to eke out the slightest advantage they possibly can. The watchful eye of sport regulators has always come down hard on the men, but women cyclists participating in the Tour de France Femmes can be just as sneaky about gaining an advantage wherever they can.
Case in point: according to the Dutch cycling news outlet Wielerflits, female racers might have been using overstuffed bras to gain an aerodynamic advantage.
Before today’s 21-kilometer individual time trial, race organizers announced racers were going to have their clothing inspected. Why? Some suspected that some might be wearing extra padding in their bras that lets wind more smoothly glide over a racer’s chest, reducing drag and letting them slice through the road with a bit more ease.
Cycling Officials Check Riders’ Bras Amid Aerodynamic Advantage Concerns
The sport’s governing body, the UCI, already has bans in place for “non-essential” clothing or accessories that alter a rider’s shape to improve aerodynamics. In a sport where victory can be measured in fractions of a second, every little bit of reduced drag can make a massive difference. Especially as that time builds up over the course of 730 miles spread out between nine stages.
Chest fairings have been used by male and female racers for years. They’ve been shown to reduce air resistance meaningfully enough for the results to show up in race times. Riders have spent years experimenting with all sorts of ways to reduce drag in their chests, with bra padding just being another in a long line of tricks, alongside ice socks that are tucked into jerseys before races.
If you’re wondering what an ice sock is, it’s exactly what it sounds like. It’s a sock filled with ice that serves the dual purpose of cooling down a rider while also providing an aerodynamic boost.
According to Dutch outlet Wielerflits, teams requested more thorough inspections, including checks by female race officials to be sure riders weren’t inflating their cup sizes to provide an aerodynamic boost.
In a sport where the difference between winner and loser can be mere millimeters, bramaxxing might be giving some cyclists an unfair advantage.
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