Hands on the bar rule.

[lone rider]

Can anyone confirm whether the brifters are considered to be part of the handlebar? At club level there is definite mixed interpretations of what this rule is. My reading of it was to stop people riding with forearms on the bars and hands free of anything. Now enter the inward turned brifter position which enables people to stay narrow yet maintain hands on the top of the brifter. I have seen many pro's race like this all year and nobody has been DQ'd yet for some reason there is people that think is illegal. Is there any clarification that states exactly what the handlebars is?

[P!N20]

I probably shouldn't be commenting as I don't race and have no familiarity with the rules, but these days most road cyclists spend the majority of their time with their hands on the hoods, so if they weren't considered part of the handlebars then everyone would be DQ'd from the get go. If you orientate your brifters so you're a bit more aero, then go for it. IMO, YMMV, etc.

[RonK]

The puppy paws position was banned by the UCI, as was the was the bar with extended drops to rest the forearms on (the rider was dq'd).
I have not seen the specific rule, but it seems clear that the forearms may not rest on the bars. I don't believe there is currently a rule about the lever position.
Local commissaires may not be enforcing this but I expect it will be at any UCI sanctioned races.
There is some talk that the inward turned hoods will be banned. I wouldn't be surprised to see a rule change before the next road season starts.

[g-boaf]

Local commissaires may not be enforcing this but I expect it will be at any UCI sanctioned races.

I'm sure I remember a directive that this was not allowed in local races. We never allowed this in our races forearms on the bars, pseudo-TT position.

I'm so happy not to be a comm anymore. These minutiae can be argued by others.

[lone rider]

I probably shouldn't be commenting as I don't race and have no familiarity with the rules, but these days most road cyclists spend the majority of their time with their hands on the hoods, so if they weren't considered part of the handlebars then everyone would be DQ'd from the get go. If you orientate your brifters so you're a bit more aero, then go for it. IMO, YMMV, etc.

100% agree. If the hoods arent part of the handlebar then the records for the past 30 years since the invention of STI levers need to be binned.

[ironhanglider]

The rules aren't hard to find.
General

1.3.008 Position
The rider shall normally assume a sitting position on the bicycle. This position requires that the only points of support are the following: the feet on the pedals, the hands on the handlebars and the seat on the saddle.
(text modified on 01.01.09)

Road races

2.2.025 Conduct of riders
...
Position on the bicycle
Riders must observe the standard position as defined by article 1.3.008. Sitting on the bicycle’s top tube is prohibited. Furthermore, using the forearms as a point of support on the handlebar is prohibited except in time trials.
(text modified on 1.01.15; 1.01.18; 1.01.19; 1.04.21; 17.04.21).

Note that the issue in question is not whether the brifters are part of the bar, nor how they are aligned, but whether the forearm is a point of support. There was some media interest this year when a rider used some funky handlebars which had a really short stem and had an extremely long reach, which were designed to make the horizontal forearm position more comfortable. The bars themselves were not illegal, but resting the forearms on them (as they were designed for) was.

Of course the UCI will expand the use of their bike scanning X-ray machines and make the rider's put their arms into them so they can determine where each rider's forearm stops and wrist starts. Maybe they will make a ruling on gloves so that gloves must not extend to the forearm, and therefore any ungloved contact on the bars is illegal. Note this means that bare hands is now outlawed, and the UCI can have glove measurement checks in addition to the sock measurements.

Cheers,

Cameron