Women’s Tour de France hit with scandal as teams accuse riders of wearing padded bras to gain an advantage

There are accusations of padded bras being used for an aerodynamic advantage taking the cycling world by storm as the Tour de France Femmes takes place across Switzerland and France.

The controversy is heating up just as the third stage resulted in the longest solo breakaway victory in the race’s history. Although it should be mentioned that there’s currently no indication that a padded bra played any part in that.

Not since the Winter Olympics was put on edge by the ski jump penis injection rumors has a sport faced such a potential scandal.

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Lotte Kopecky of Belgium and Team SD Worx – Protime and Pauline Ferrand-Prevot of France and Team Visma | Lease a Bike Women compete during Stage 3 of the Tour de France Femmes 2026, a 156.5km stage from Geneva to Poligny, on Aug. 3, 2026, in Poligny, France. (Getty Images)

The Dutch outlet Wielerflits reported receiving several complaints from women’s WorldTeams about female cyclists exploiting their breast size in time trials by faking a larger cup size using padding in their bras.

A rounder chest, an advantage in certain other ways, also helps reduce aerodynamic drag through something called chest fairing, according to Bert Blocken, a professor of aerodynamics at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland and LUT in Finland.

The use of a padded bra is prohibited under the regulations of the International Cycling Union (UCI), which make it clear you can’t place objects on the chest or use clothing to alter the body shape of a rider.

“We are talking about a Chest Fairing, which alters the airflow around the body, thereby reducing overpressure on the thighs. As a result, the rider experiences less air resistance,” said Professor Blocken.

Anna van der Breggen of the Netherlands, Amber Kraak of the Netherlands, Carlotta Cipressi of Italy, Magdeleine Vallieres Mill of Canada and Margarita Garcia of Spain lead the peloton during Stage 3 of the 5th Tour de France Femmes 2026, a 156.5-kilometer stage from Geneva to Poligny, France, on Aug. 3, 2026. (Getty Images)

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“It is not that you gain a benefit of tens of seconds with this in a time trial, but in a ride of 20 to 30 kilometers, it can yield seconds that can be decisive.”

He’s proved it with extensive research into chest fairings, although it isn’t known if he dove into the use of padded bras or not. The research showed, the Dutch outlet reports, that you can achieve a reduction in air resistance of up to 3.6%.

Who knew a padded bra could be used to reduce air resistance? It’s fascinating that we have people out there on both ends of this.

One side is trying to gain an advantage and the other is trying to find where one might be gained. And here we are talking about padded bras. Their work hasn’t been in vain.

The teams upset about the faking of the larger cup sizes want the UCI jury to take action. They have an idea about what can be done too. They could have padded bra inspectors for a lack of a better term.

Evita Muzic of France and Demi Vollering of the Netherlands and Team FDJ United-SUEZ compete during Stage 3 of the Tour de France Femmes 2026, a 156.5-kilometer stage from Geneva to Poligny, on Aug. 3, 2026, in Poligny, France. (Getty Images)

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They’d like to “have a female juror check the riders in a closed tent immediately after the time trial to ensure they are not hiding anything in their bras or under their aero clothing.”

That may solve the fake cup size and padded bra controversy, but what will they come up with next? Where will they inject or pad or attempt to gain a competitive advantage?

Has there been research into any aerodynamic advantages of a well-contoured Brazilian Butt Lift? I hope so.