News
Vice President Cyril Hariton Assists Cycling Equipment Manufacturer SRAM in Antitrust Dispute Against International Cycling Union
Analysis Group Vice President Cyril Hariton was retained by Norton Rose Fulbright on behalf of SRAM, a manufacturer of cycling transmission systems, in a competition complaint filed against Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in connection with UCI’s maximum gearing technical standard. The matter concerned UCI’s Maximum Gear Ratio Test Protocol, which would have limited the maximum gear ratio allowed in certain professional road cycling events. SRAM challenged the protocol before the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA), arguing that the rulemaking process was not transparent, objective, or non-discriminatory, and that the protocol would disproportionately affect SRAM and professional teams using SRAM drivetrain systems.
Dr. Hariton supported SRAM before the BCA, assessing the competition economics issues at and available safety-related statistical data. He also demonstrated that there was no convincing quantitative evidence capable of supporting UCI’s standard.
The BCA imposed interim measures suspending implementation of the protocol. Subsequently, the Brussels Court of Appeal (Markets Court) dismissed UCI’s appeal in full and affirmed the BCA’s decision. The Markets Court confirmed that the BCA had validly concluded, on a prima facie basis, that the protocol raised competition concerns due to shortcomings in transparency, objectivity, and non-discrimination. The court also found that UCI had not justified why the protocol was necessary and proportionate to advance rider safety, and that the BCA had properly assessed the risk of serious, immediate, and difficult-to-repair harm to SRAM and teams using SRAM transmission systems.
Associated People
Cyril Hariton
Vice PresidentDr. Hariton specializes in the application of industrial organization and competition economics to merger control, antitrust and competition, state aid, and regulatory matters, including extensive work in large-scale merger investigations and competition litigation before the European Commission and national competition authorities. He previously served as an economist at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP). Dr. Hariton has advised on more than 75 merger reviews, including those of Halliburton/Baker Hughes, Dow/DuPont, Bayer/Monsanto, and Salesforce/Slack by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), as well as antitrust cases involving Intel, Servier, and Glaxo Wellcome. His experience includes work on state aid, damages estimation, and regulatory proceedings, as well as work on Digital Services Act fee challenges and foreign subsidies regulation. Dr. Hariton also brings distinctive expertise as a forensic IT expert, having assisted in multiple inspections and investigations. He has published in journals including the Review of Industrial Organization, the Journal of Public Economic Theory, the Journal of Regulatory Economics, the Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Revue Économique, and Recherches Économiques de Louvain, and has contributed to European Commission consultations and newsletters. Dr. Hariton previously served as an assistant professor at Toulouse Business School and as a research fellow at UCLouvain.