Equipment based sports do need regulating, the purpose of any regulation should be not to entirely level the playing field but to strike a balance between the performance gains delivered through the application of technology and the input of the athlete… too far in either direction and the sport and associated industries stagnate…
Overly complex language and seemingly pointless regulations are bound to creep in over time, it’s simply due to the nature of the sports and equipment that thy are trying to regulate, when the bicycle was first invented it was bashed out of Iron by blacksmiths, these days riders compete on hugely expensive high tech machines constructed from composites and exotic metals, imagine trying to regulate a sport where the kit involved has gone from having more in common with a garden gate, to borrowing technology from Aerospace and high end motor sports, the reg’s will definitely get complicated…
The UCI are responsible for the regulation of an awful lot of varied cycling disciplines, it’s not surprising they take the odd poor or unpopular decision, I for one still think the skin suit ban for DH should be overturned, but I’d still prefer cycle sports were regulated by the UCI or someone than it was a barely controlled free for all…
