UCI pulls plug on Visma’s tire system on eve of Roubaix

April 9, 2026

Visma-Lease a Bike has been forced to abandon its in-race tire pressure system after a last-minute ruling from the UCI, a move the team says came without warning, according to WielerFlits.

The team had been using the Gravaa system throughout the cobbled races. Most recently, the Dutch team used them at the Grand Prix de Denain. That, however, has changed rapidement. “We received a letter, without prior announcement that this was coming,” Visma’s head of performance Mathieu Heijboer said on the In de Waaier podcast.

The explanation from the UCI centres on uncertainty around the system’s availability after the company behind it went bankrupt. While operations have since resumed, Heijboer said the governing body now doubts whether it meets the requirement of being commercially available. That explains the big ole ban for the rest of the season. Basically, if pros want to use a product, it needs to be something you can buy. That’s why sometimes you’ll see a crazy fast track frame sold for $50,000, even though no one would ever buy it. It’s just to appease the rules so that a national team can use it at the world championships. CANADIAN Cycling MAGAZINE