Cycling - UCI World Championships 2023 - Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - August 6, 2023 Belgium's Remco Evenepoel in action during the men's elite road race REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska/File Photo
(Reuters) - Belgian cyclist Remco Evenepoel said the UCI's decision to ban the 'head sock' time trial helmet was laughable and that the sport's governing body was turning riders against it.
American manufacturer Specialized's bulbous T55 model, which features a built-in balaclava known as a 'head sock', has fallen foul of UCI rules that ban the use of non-essential components not exclusively for clothing or safety.
On Tuesday, it was prohibited from use at events on the UCI International Calendar.
"It's laughable," Evenepoel, who won the 2022 Vuelta a Espana and claimed the road time trial title at the World Championships last year, told Belgian media on Wednesday.
"Two years ago, they authorised our helmet, and now they’re taking it out.
"They're dragging cycling into the ridiculous and they're making all the riders turn against the UCI."
The UCI has said it will undertake a review of its regulations on time trial helmets, with other designs, including the model worn by the 'Team Visma|Lease a Bike' riders at the recent Tirreno-Adriatico prologue, having come under scrutiny.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
