UCI modifies the notorious 3-kilometer rule: If you crash alone, you still lose time

The UCI has made changes to the well-known 3-kilometer rule. According to Directvélo, the rule will be applied more specifically than before: starting in 2025, if you crash without the involvement of other riders or factors beyond your control, you'll simply be out of luck.

With this change, the international cycling union aims to create more clarity in the regulations. Currently, the rule is as follows. Any incident that is independent of the rider's own physical abilities (fall, mechanical issue, flat tire) means their time is counted as the time of the riders with whom they were riding at the moment of the incident. This will now change: if a rider slips due to bad luck, crashes into barriers, or falls alone in any other way, their time loss will not be restored — their gap at the finish line will be their final time.

With this rule change, the UCI wants to prevent situations like those that occurred in this year's Tour de France. In stage eleven, Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar were at the front, while Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel were chasing. During the descent before the finish, the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe leader slipped and crashed. He briefly stood on the side of the road, and since the incident happened just before the finish, the Slovenian lost thirty seconds to his Belgian competitor. However, he was eventually given the same time as the Soudal Quick-Step rider. This will no longer happen starting in 2025.

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3-kilometer rule previously changed to 5-kilometer rule

It’s worth noting that this is not the first time the 3-kilometer rule has been modified. In various instances, the cycling union extended the rule to four or even five kilometers from the finish, with the safety of the riders in mind. This season was an experiment in that regard, but time will tell if the adjustment will remain.