Is Dylan Groenewegen's covered-up aero helmet about to be banned?

When Dylan Groenewegen sprinted to victory on stage 1 of the Saudi Tour, the shimmering reflection from the otherwise dark vents on the front of his aero helmet was immediately noticeable. At face value, the helmet appeared to be a Giant Pursuit, his sponsor's aero helmet and the same as worn by the rest of his teammates. In fact, it is exactly that helmet, but with what appears to be an aftermarket cover over the vents.

It's not the first time we've seen covers like this. The most high-profile user of such a cover was Briton Mark Cavendish, whose clear plastic shell enwrapping his Specialized helmet at the 2011 World Championships sparked the birth of the aero helmets as we know them today. 

The problem is, just a couple of months later at the 2012 Tour Down Under, the UCI banned their use, forcing the Lotto-Belisol team to change theirs at the last minute. 

As of January 1 2023, Article 1.3.031 of the UCI's Technical Regulations, states:

3. Each rider shall be responsible for: 

• Using only a helmet that has not been altered or had any element added or removed in terms of design or form
• Using only accessories approved by the helmet manufacturer.
  

It is prohibited to add a detachable cover to a helmet. The composition of the helmet material and its surface condition are not subject to any regulations. However, additions to the helmet are not allowed (cover, tape, etc.). The use of mechanical or electronic systems in or on the helmet is also prohibited.

It is obligatory to wear a helmet for safety reasons and no modifications to the helmet are allowed. The helmet must be approved in accordance with the prevailing safety standards, must not have been modified and must not have suffered an impact or been involved in an accident.

Despite those rules, Jayco AlUla believes Groenewegen's helmet flies above board. Speaking exclusively to Cyclingnews, a representative from the team confirmed that this was indeed an aero cover, rather than a newly updated version of the Pursuit helmet from Giant. 

Thanks to this image, we can see faint lines around the top edge of the vents. This suggests Groenewegen's helmet isn't using a complete shell as used by Cavendish, or the Aeroshell from Lazer. In this case, the add-on accessory appears only to cover the vents, and is glued into place. 

A second representative went on to explain that aerodynamics wasn't the motivation for its use. 

"It's not for aerodynamic purposes, but special for the wind and sand here," they explained, referencing the arid conditions found at the Saudi Tour. "Giant has something similar for cyclocross where the riders can close or open the holes depending on the weather."

Cyclingnews knows of no such product available to the general public from Giant, nor of any prototypes in testing. With that said, it could indeed exist and remain within the UCI's good books. As per the rules outlined above, adjustable vents are certainly UCI-legal so long as they're part of the original design – ie, they're not a modification. Kask's Wasabi helmet, for example, offers a sliding cover that opens and closes the vents. Similarly, helmets designed without any vents in the first place are also legal, such as many of today's best aero helmets and time trial helmets. 

However, after seeking clarification, the team confirmed that the cover is "not a permanent part of the helmet at this moment." 

Despite this, Groenewegen went on to use the same helmet during stage 2, and at the time of publishing, Cyclingnews knows of no action having been taken by the race commissaries or the UCI. 

Update: Groenewegen has begun stage 3 with the original uncovered Giant Pursuit helmet. It's unclear at this point whether this was mandated by commissaries, the team has been spooked by our enquiries after stage 2, or a decision that was made due to the more climb-heavy parcours of today's stage.