According to a report in Cycling Weekly, Cornwall-based British Continental team Saint Piran was using an unmarked Chinese frame with a fake UCI approval sticker.

Run by Richard Pascoe and carrying British Cycling Elite Development Team status, the most high-profile team in the UK was racing with an all-black, unmarked frameset purchased from a Chinese manufacturer. And in order to appear compliant, a fake UCI sticker was placed on the seat tube.

This situation arose in 2022 when the relationship between St. Piran and its then sponsor, Lapierre, broke down. The dispute was reportedly due to concerns about the safety of the models supplied, which Lapierre strongly denied. Groupama-FDJ, the world tour team to which Lapierre belonged, reported no problems at the time. The cost of the claim by St. Piran was reported to have amounted to £100,000, resulting in the team being without a bike to race for a time and eventually using a production Trek bike.

During this time, the team purchased a frame from a Chinese manufacturer, dubbed the “Wuhan Weapon” by the riders; according to photos seen by Cyclingnews, the frame is from a brand called Lightcarbon and is simply an “integrated road bike disc frame.” It appears to be named, but St. Piran denied this, stating only that they used a “Chinese brand” instead.

Pascoe brushed off safety concerns about the non-UCI-approved framesets, accusing the riders of “moaning” and reportedly insisting that the frames were UCI compliant.

All equipment used in UCI races must be approved by the governing body. Hence, compliant frames must have a sticker that is placed on them at the time of manufacture. Pascoe reportedly intended to apply the stickers “during the race” and used clear nail varnish to achieve this effect, but a photo of the sticker in question shows that the corners can be lifted with a fingernail. It is possible that the strong acetone solvent in the nail varnish dissolved the ink on the sticker, rendering it unusable.

The application of UCI-approved stickers by individuals is in direct contravention of the regulations, which state that “the fixing of UCI framesets and UCI fork labels by individuals is prohibited” and further that the stickers must be “visible, indelible and inseparable from the frameset The stickers must be “visible, indelible and inseparable from the frameset”. The stickers in question also differ from the current approval stickers in that each one contains a code linking the frameset in question to the UCI approved equipment list. The current sticker simply says 'APPROVED' and has no such code; there are no frames on the UCI approved list that are also approved for light carbon.”

In an Instagram statement posted this morning, St. Piran stated: “After a detailed inspection, we can confirm that the no-brand frame did not comply with the UCI's regulation process. He added: “St. Piran acted on the advice of the manufacturer and outside experts and understood that it was always in accordance with UCI regulations. It appears that this advice was incorrect. We have now reported this to the UCI and British Cycling and will abide by their ruling."

The use of illegal equipment is prohibited not only for safety reasons, but also to prevent teams and riders from gaining an advantage. In this regard, the team stated that “the frame complied with all ISO standards and the geometry and design met UCI regulations, so no advantage was gained.”

In response to the above information, the UCI issued a short official statement on the matter.

“The UCI can confirm that an investigation is currently underway into the possible use of non-homologated framesets by the UCI Continental Team St. Piran in previous events on the UCI international calendar.

No further information was provided, and given the ongoing investigation, it became clear that there was nothing further to go on.

An examination of the UCI-approved documentation on the tools clearly stated that “misuse of the label or use contrary to the provisions of this protocol may be punishable by a fine of CHF 10,000 to 100,000.”