Storm in a B-cup? ‘Bra-gate’ rocks Tour de France Femmes
The Tour de France Femmes has been rocked by allegations some riders are exaggerating their bust size to gain an aerodynamic advantage.
The “bra booster” scandal involves riders artificially padding their chest area specifically in individual time trial events. According to Dutch cycling publication WielerFlits, “several” teams had raised concerns rivals are “faking” a larger cup size.
Marlen Reusser won the fourth stage of the Tour de France Femmes, a 21km individual time trial. Getty
The practice, formally referred to as “chest fairing” by officials, works by changing the airflow around the cyclist.
In a time trial, competitors ride hunched over with their arms tucked close together, which creates a turbulent pocket of air in the neck and chest area, which then extends down the rider’s torso. By padding their bras, the space is filled, and the air is directed around their body, which means there is less turbulent air, and drag is reduced by up to 3.6 per cent.
That equates to just under eight tenths of a second per kilometre, which added up to a little more than 16 seconds across the duration of the 21km fourth stage time trial. The margin of victory in the stage, held on Tuesday night (AEST) was four seconds.
Before the time trial, organisers announced they would attempt to prevent any scandal by requiring riders to reports for a bike and outfit check 10 minutes before the start of the stage.
“Particular attention will be paid to compliance with article 1.3.032 of the UCI regulations, including non-essential elements and clothing or other items/accessories worn by a rider (including but not limited to helmets, glasses, shoes or in-race communication devices) which could modify riders’ morphology,” the announcement read.
WielerFlits reported the teams wanted riders checked by female officials immediately after the time trial to ensure compliance. Riders caught altering clothing face immediate disqualification and fines.
The practice was reportedly a concern in the 2023 and 2024 men’s Tour de France races.
It is also common in triathlons, where competitors will try and fill the space with water bottles or pockets.
The bra booster scandal echoes that of so-called “penis-gate” from the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics earlier this year, in which ski jumpers were accused of injecting hyaluronic acid into their genitals in order to wear a larger suit which could then provide more lift and a longer flight.
The FIS responded by declaring there was never “any indication, let alone evidence” a competitor had ever undertaken the practice.