Saxo Bank Shiv Banned by UCI.
In a rare showing of consistency the UCI has now informed Saxo Bank that their Specialized Shiv TT bike is illegal. This follows closely on the heels of Astana’s Alberto Contador having to race aboard a Transition TT bike at the Volta ao Algarve this past weekend after the UCI banned their Shiv. As the Astana and Saxo Bank Shivs are essentially identical this can’t have come as a shock.

The issue? The radically integrated front end of the bike. Using two systems, the stem and the head tube, Specialized was able to create a shape beyond 3:1. While not specifically banned by the UCI they have now interpreted the rules to exclude such a design. Specialized countered by claiming the stem was crucial to front end stiffness and not simply for aerodynamics, a claim that fell on dead ears last weekend.

In the European press Saxo’s Bjarne Riis said, “We have been told that we must not use the bicycle because the UCI will not approve it. Fortunately we have not had a really big time trial yet, but before long there is a major one in Paris-Nice. The rules are so specific and complicated that no one can really understand it. It is beneath contempt, the bicycle is both durable and safe. Now they suddenly say that the front of it is illegal.”

The durability and safety of the bike is clearly not at issue. Speaking with team officials at the Astana training camp that have an inside knowledge of the UCI’s decision-making process Testrider was told it may all stem from the International Olympic Committee. In an attempt to maintain as many medal events as possible at the Olympics the UCI is trying to bow to the IOC’s concerns that technology and money are becoming barriers to entry for developing nations. This may also be the source of the UCI weight limit.

Regardless of the inspiration for the seemingly arbitrary application of the 3:1 rule Saxo Bank now has to find a new TT bike for the World Champion, Fabian Cancellara. Contador proved the Transition is still capable of big results with a second place TT ride and overall victory at the Volta ao Algarve. It was also only a year ago that Cancellara rode the Shiv to victory at the tour of California’s prologue.

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