One of the bike industry’s most senior executives says road disc brakes could be used in professional competition in 2016.
The comments came from Jeroen Snijders Blok, the chief operating officer at bike brand owner Accel, one of the world’s biggest bike manufacturers, and a member of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) panel that is conducting meetings with the UCI on making disc brakes competition legal
“The usage of UCI approved disc brakes at WorldTour races will happen in 2016. At least, that's what I expect now," he told the industry website, Bike Europe.
Snijders Blok’s comments back up those from Andreas Walzer, the pro team liaison manager from German brand Canyon, who told BikeRadar in April he had heard rumours of a 2016 launch date for the technology.
Snijders Blok, whose Accel group owns brands including Raleigh, Koga, Diamondback and Lapierre, was reacting to a story in a Bike Europe sister publication, Tweewieler, which suggested brakes could be in the peloton as early as next year.
He said: “The report on Tweewieler.nl surprised me. It is true that we are getting positive responses in our meetings with the UCI. But despite that it will take longer than 2015 for the UCI to approve the use of disc brakes in professional road racing.”
He said process will take longer as cycling’s governing body gathers information about the consequences and safety performance of road disc brakes.
While the industry is clamouring for the introduction, professional teams and the riders who will have to use the technology are more cautious in response to it.
The UCI is still to announce a decision on whether it will even allow road disc brakes into competition.