Supersapiens-Using Pro, Kristen Faulkner disqualified from Strade Bianche
Kristen Faulkner has been disqualified from the Strade Bianche cycling race of 4th March due to her wearing a Supersapiens Continuous Glucose Monitoring Device, which was in breach of UCI regulations (article 1.3.006bis). She had originally finished third in the race but was later disqualified, with no further sanctions imposed. Faulkner’s claim that there was no performance advantage was dismissed, even though she provided evidence that she had no means to view the performance data.
Thoughts
Supersapiens must have been sufficiently concerned about the recent disqualification of cyclist Kristen Faulkner for using its blood glucose monitor during the Strade Bianche race to issue a press release. However, the company need not worry too much. While the incident provides good PR for the brand, it casts a negative light on the athlete and her team, who displayed joint naivety in using a banned product during the competition. Even I knew that this was not allowed.
The UCI’s ban on Supersapiens is not surprising, as the organization has a tendency to ban just about everything that could provide a novel competitive advantage. Despite Supersapiens’ valid health claims, this ban also serves as evidence that Supersapiens deliver a performance edge to athletes.
Cyclists can still use the product for training purposes to refine their race-day strategies, while triathletes can continue using it in competition.
Supersapiens is lobbying behind the scenes to change the rules and permit the use of its product in competition.
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I can’t get why there was nobody at the team controlling such things.
She said she put it on only a few days prior. And saying „i didn’t bring a phone with me so I could not see the values“ is a funny excuse when you always can drop back to the car. That was no complicated rule to obey.
The UCI said they banned it because it makes racing further inaccessible for poor teams.
Knowing your BCL live and aspiring the Nutrition can be a big advantage on long stages and multi stage races, i see their point. SuperSapiens is expensive even if you don’t have to deal with unreliable patches.
I totally see UCIs point in this case.
To bring an example:
At the Olympics the British track team had a budget per rider that was 2.5 the amount of the most Africans teams, meaning you could equip and train 2 teams for less money than 1 rider. And now look at the placements
I think Kipchoge had a CGM in one of the latest marathons…
probably for health or sponsorship reasons 😉 not performance 😉 luckily for him, it wasn’t regulated by the UCI