Feed zone chaos is way more dangerous than any particular riding position.
But are the UCI forcing the whole peloton to dismount and walk to grab musettes? Doesn’t look like it.
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You’re right and I stand corrected. 
I’ll go on the record saying that I think folks look really cool when they’re off the front, chilling/breaking away in faux TT position. I don’t think the main goal of this (IMHO) silly rule is regulating fashion, but that’s the main reason I’m bummed about it.
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Agreed. I enjoy seeing skill on display. It can be terrifying watching Roglic descend at high speed in the supertuck but I love watching the skill involved. Enforcing these rules (note, they actually already existed they will just now be enforcing them) is taking away a skill in our sport. Same with the TT position, it gives a hell of a lot of control and I use it quite regularly. Yes, you are a bit further from the brakes but that’s the same when you ride on the tops but that’s still fine.
Not the end of the world. I’ll still be watching.
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Yes.
My wife will be racing UCI races and has frequently used the supertuck and virtual aero bars position to gain an advantage. She thinks it’s absurd and limiting of the competitive ability of many riders, without merit.
I think that the fear for the rest of us is that the no-supertuck/VAB rule will trickle down to USAC and actually impact our racing. It doesn’t take more skill to hold a supertuck or ride in an aerodynamic position with forearms on bars, than to hit descents with corners. If anything, less skill and less risk involved. It’s an unnecessary rule. Rules deserve to be critically examined.
I consider both a basic skill to be trained like any other, and hope that USAC will not follow the UCI lead, but suspect they will.
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Ridiculous ruling, supertuck too
Good to see some focus finally coming on dangerous routes, finishes and barriers at least. Hopefully enforcing those things come before enforcing stupid stuff that doesnt cause crashes and injuries like this
Hard disagree with this statement…maybe not if you are just going in a straight line on smooth pavement, but introduce turns, potholes, rocks, sand, cracks into the mix and it is a whole different ballgame.
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BAN IT. It’s for duh Fred’s!!!
Hopefully the UCI will ban cars from hitting cyclists soon.
So…you umm…actually believe that amateurs will no longer do these things?
Cause the UCI banned them, lol?
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Appreciate your disagreement there and I bet our viewpoints may be more similar than the initially seemed.
I agree that when a road is chewed up with potholes, rocks, sand, or deep cracks, riding in supertuck or on VAB requires at least as much skill as descending on winding roads. I sort of assumed (though I completely failed to explain, so my fault!) that most folks come out of the supertuck or VAB position before roads get sketchy. Both are positions I think most cyclists refrain from using when the road is gnarly.
Perhaps stiff penalties for having caused a crash in either of those positions is a better idea than banning it outright. This would incentivize more judicious use of the skills, I think.
I will continue to supertuck.
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Personally I disagree, very easy to cruise along on the fake aero bars, even on gravel, bumpy roads etc
Hard cornering at speed is much riskier and more difficult to get right
Maybe (probably?) not the case for all, but definitely for me
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Same.
And all the scolds and hand wringers will tsk tsk you and secretly hope you get hurt, just so they can feel smug and “right”.
You’re a braver man than me, I’d never even do it as a joke. Same with the puppy dog dangle TT position.
(lecturers and scolds): WTF!? I love the UCI now.
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I think you are assuming a level of common sense that is not, in fact, common.
Yup. The supertuck feels super sketchy to me. Tried it for about 1 second during a 40mph descent and backed off right away.
Maybe it’s because I’m used to MTB and being able to move the bike readily underneath me when I need to.
The feeling of being pinned under the saddle nose and too much weight on the front wheel is scary. What if there’s some stones or a stick on the road ahead? At 40mph you may see those too late and have no choice but to ride over them. Not a risk I want to take.
Should the UCI have banned the supertuck? Well I feel less strong about that than I do my own personal well being. But yeah, I think it’s the right call.
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I used to do a lot of downhill skateboarding, where you curl up in what is essentially a super tuck all the time to go as fast as possible.
You get really, really good at it, able to tuck through corners faster than you thought possible and be comfortable/confident/safe in all sorts of situations. It’s just about practice.
Bikes are the same thing, if not even safer since slowing down is more simple.
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I’m a long time skateboarder, still go fart around the skatepark with my sons, and I think downhill skateboarders are insane!
No way I’d do that. Speed wobbles anyone, lol.
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Nate’s dropper post prediction is coming true faster than expected. IF these rules hold, dropper posts are coming.
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Ha, forearms.
I’ve been resting my armpits on the handlebars. Way lower and more aero.
Also the Supertuck is so 2010s. This is the decade of the Ultratuck. Disclaimer: I might be confusing this with something else. Sometimes I get my T’s and F’s mixed up.
Let me offer a slightly different take: in my mind both, the supertuck and the virtual aero bars to me are a sign that athletes would like to use, well, proper rather than make-belief aero bars and perhaps a dropper post. At the very least, athletes would like to have the choice.
But that goes to another point: the UCI has been extremely resistant to letting bike designs evolve. In some areas like disc brakes they were extremely hesitant to allow a technology that had proven itself in other areas of cycling for roughly two decades.
On the other hand, you have this rigid weight limit and tight controls on frame design — which includes rules against aerodynamic devices like farings or aero bars. I’m quite jealous of all the innovative bike designs triathletes can play with. Sure, not all of them will be successful, but it’d be nice if manufacturers had the option to try.