New UCI rules will render some of the wheels used at this year's Tour de France obsolete in the pro peloton in six months' time.
From 1 January 2026, the maximum height of bicycle rims for mass start road events will be 65mm, with anything deeper banned. The measure was announced last month as part of a wave of regulation updates, all with the goal of improving safety in professional cycling.
Strolling through the team paddock across the Tour's Grand Départ, Cycling Weekly spotted multiple wheels that won't be UCI legal next year, some as deep as 80mm.
Among them was the rear wheel of defending champion Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), which was 67mm deep, 2mm beyond the new limit.
Pogačar ran a 67mm rear wheel on stage one.
(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
Pogačar's front wheel, on the other hand, was well within the new rules at 60mm.
Why did he run different widths? Strong gusts were forecast on day one in Lille and ended up ripping the race into echelons – teams tend to go for shallower rims at the front for better handling in crosswinds. This is because they have less surface area for the wind to hit.
The rear wheel is impacted less because it has the rider's weight on top of it.
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Last year's Tour winner went for a mismatched set-up, with a 60mm wheel at the front.
(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) also went for mismatched wheel depths, running 66mm at the back, and 60mm at the front.
Girmay's wheels were mismatched, too.
(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
Girmay's wheelset is made by German company Newmen. According to the brand, the 60mm-66mm combination "offers the best possible compromise between crosswind stability and low air resistance."
Intermarché-Wanty will not be able to use the 66mm rear wheel, pictured below, next season.
Newman's Streem S.66 is – you guessed it – 66mm deep.
(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
The deepest rims we spotted in Lille on Saturday belonged to Cofidis sprinter Bryan Coquard, who began the stage with a whopping 80mm rear wheel.
The Frenchman ran a Campagnolo Bora Ultra WTO 80, an aero-optimised product said to be suitable even for time trials. In six months, it will be 15mm over the limit in bunch events.
Coquard's rear wheel was the deepest on show.
(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
On the cusp
Other teams ran set-ups that will be within millimetres of the UCI's new rules when they come into place in January.
Visma-Lease a Bike are supplied by Reserve.
(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
Visma-Lease a Bike's new Reserve wheels are 64mm deep, and were fitted to the team's new Cérvelo S5, their most aero bike.
Like other teams, Visma's wheel depths were mismatched: 64mm at the rear and 57mm at the front. The new wheels also have carbon spokes.
No prizes for guessing this wheel's depth.
(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
Other riders, like Lidl-Trek's Jonathan Milan, chose wheels that will fall safely within the UCI's new limits. The Italian rode 62mm rims for stage one.
62mm will keep Jonathan Milan well within the rules.
(Image credit: Tom Davidson)
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Tom joined Cycling Weekly as a news and features writer in the summer of 2022, having previously contributed as a freelancer. He is fluent in French and Spanish, and holds a master's degree in International Journalism. Since 2020, he has been the host of The TT Podcast, offering race analysis and rider interviews.
An enthusiastic cyclist himself, Tom likes it most when the road goes uphill, and actively seeks out double-figure gradients on his rides. His best result is 28th in a hill-climb competition, albeit out of 40 entrants.
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