Cycling’s governing body is doubling down on its insistence that gear ratios are the answer to safety in professional cycling. Following the meeting of the UCI Management Committee, the federation issued a press release on Friday, noting its intent to appeal a Belgian court’s decision to block the UCI’s gear restriction test.
“Recommended by SafeR, the maximum gear ratio test was intended to gather riders’ views on the relevance of introducing gear ratio limitations in professional road cycling as a means of improving safety,” the UCI stated in its press release.
“In light of the Brussels Court of Appeal’s decision, and concerned by both the very low threshold applied by the BCA for imposing interim measures and the limited scope of the Court of Appeal’s review in the appeal proceedings, the Management Committee confirmed the UCI’s intention to lodge an appeal before the Belgian Court of Cassation [Belgium’s Supreme Court -ed].”
Safety has been at the forefront of the UCI’s agenda for the past five years, and a spate of record speeds in races like Paris-Roubaix led the federation to introduce a Maximum Gear Ratio Standard that was to be tested during the 2025 season.
The limit would rule out any gear ratios exceeding the equivalent of a 54-tooth chainring and 10-tooth cog, which would propel a rider 10.46 metres per pedal stroke.
However, SRAM pushed back against the rules, which would have forced them to mechanically disable its 10-tooth cog. SRAM is the only manufacturer of cassettes with 10-tooth cogs, and is disproportionately affected by the proposed UCI limits.
SRAM argued that there is no evidence that higher gear ratios correlate with an increased risk of crashing. Speeds are dependent not just on gear ratios, but on crank length, pedal revolutions per minute and tyre width/wheel size.
The company claimed in their suit that the rules cause them reputational damage and potential civil liability, loss of retailer and OEM support, erosion of global market share, and ‘up to a decade of reinvestment to recover’.
“Although the UCI refers to the Maximum Gearing Protocol as a ‘test’, its implementation has already caused tangible harm,” the company said in a statement last September. “SRAM’s gearing has been publicly labelled as non-compliant, creating reputational damage, market confusion, team and athlete anxiety, and potential legal exposure.”
In October, 2025, the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) sided with SRAM and blocked the UCI’s plan for a gear restriction test at the Tour of Guangxi. Following a lengthy exchange of writs, a public hearing was held in April where the Brussels Markets Court upheld the BCA’s decision. The case was finalised on May 21, with the UCI being ordered to pay nominal fees to the BCA, among others.
The UCI has already set aside €300,000 from the safety initiative SafeR’s budget to fight the case, despite several SRAM-sponsored teams being obliged to contribute to the SafeR budget.
