Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Reigning world time trial champion Marlen Reusser has underlined her ability in the speciality, winning stage four of the Tour de France Femmes by a margin substantial enough to claim the yellow jersey — on a day ‘breastgate’ kicked into gear.
Swiss rider Reusser (Movistar) finished Tuesday’s 21km time-trial from Gevrey-Chambertin to Dijon in 27 minutes, 30 seconds.
That earned her a 14-second lead over Dutch former champion Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) in the general classification.
Vollering finished third on the day behind compatriot Lieke Nooijen (Visma-Lease a Bike), who was four seconds slower than Reusser.
Norwegian Sigrid Haugset (Uno-X Mobility), who had taken yellow with a spectacular solo victory on Monday, was more than three minutes slower than Reusser and dropped to fourth overall, behind third-placed Cedrine Kerbaol of France.
Haugset appeared to be struggling with exhaustion as she failed to capitalise on her two-minute cushion in the overall rankings.
“I’m super, super happy … it’s the first Tour de France that I really saw as my goal of the year that I really targeted,” said 34-year-old Reusser.
The race was preceded by enhanced clothing checks following claims some cyclists could be using extra padding in their bras to seek an aerodynamic advantage.
A communique from race organisers confirmed the checks after Dutch outlet Wielerflits reported some teams had raised concerns that padded bras could smooth the airflow around the body for the stage four time trial.
The communique said “particular attention” will be paid to compliance with regulations around “non-essential clothing or other items/accessories … which could modify riders’ morphology”.
One photo circulated and published by international media showed a male official conducting a check on a rider, with a female official also present.
The situation comes just months after similar aerodynamic-focused ‘penis injecting’ claims surrounding male ski jumpers at the Winter Olympics.
The controversial practice involved athletes injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid in a bid to increase their penis circumference by 1-2cm.
It would be done before the jumpers are measured for their suits. Their suits are then made to fit around the enlarged penis which, due to increased surface area, can apparently help the athlete fly further in a jump.
International Ski and Snowboard Federation race director Sandro Pertile previously sounded the alarm, saying: “Every extra centimetre on a suit counts. If your suit has a five per cent bigger surface area, you fly further.”
The Tour de France Femmes race continues on Wednesday with a 140km hilly ride from Macon to Belleville-en-Beaujolais.
