McQuaid: UCI will enforce tech’ rules on track
- By VeloNews.com
- Published Mar. 27, 2010
- Updated Mar. 28, 2010 at 10:23 AM UTC
By Agence France-Presse
Britain and fellow track powers Germany and Australia were warned Saturday that attempts to leave weaker nations behind thanks to illegal technological advances will not be tolerated.
Those Aussie bikes may be fast, but McQuaid says they may be violating the spirit of the rules, too.
UCI president Pat McQuaid said he was particularly concerned about the way some teams are flouting rules by using expensive equipment that “is not commercially available.”
And the Irishman called on three of track’s biggest nations to “start competing on a level playing field” in the run-up to the London Olympics in 2012.
“It has become apparent to the UCI that over the past few years it has got a little bit out of control,” McQuaid said at the world track cycling championships Saturday.
“We sometimes have teams riding on prototypes (bikes) that are costing 50,000 if not in the hundreds of thousands of pounds to develop.
“That works against the Olympic Charter, it’s against UCI rules and it’s against the spirit of fair play. I’ve written to all the federations and reminded them that any bikes they use must be within the rules as they’re laid down.”
McQuaid said between now and the 2012 Games the UCI would move to “guarantee” that all teams would be using equipment, including clothing developed via nanotechnology, that fell within the rules.
“We’re particularly concerned about the way this is going in the run-up to the London Games.
“At London in 2012 we can guarantee there will be no-one using bikes, equipment and not even clothing (that is illegal) ─ because we are aware of developments in nanotechnology that can aid athletes in ways that would be outside the rules.”
McQuaid added: “There are three countries involved, Britain, Germany and Australia and they are incidentally the three strongest countries in track cycling.”