Riders will test GPS tracking devices at the Tour of Romandie this week, ahead of the safety measure becoming mandatory at the road world championships later this year.
World cycling’s governing body is asking one rider from each team to wear a tracking device at the three-day women’s event in Switzerland, beginning Friday.
The same technology will be used at the road world championships in Kigali, Rwanda, from Sept. 21-28, where every rider — from junior to elite level — will have to carry the device.
“The objective of this test is to refine the UCI’s safety tracking software and establish protocols to provide real-time data to race control, medical teams and UCI Commissaires,” the UCI said in a statement. “This system will strengthen the monitoring of rider safety during races and enable rapid response in case of incidents. This represents an important step forward in ensuring the safety of riders.”
At last year’s world championships, 18-year-old cyclist Muriel Furrer died after sustaining a head injury in a crash.
She was competing in the junior women’s event on rain-slicked roads when she crashed in a forest area south of Zurich. She reportedly lay alone for almost an hour and a half before she was discovered at the side of the road and airlifted by helicopter to the hospital.
Two years ago, Gino Mäder suffered a fatal crash at the Tour de Suisse. The 26-year-old rider went off the road and crashed into a ravine during a descent and died from his injuries the next day.
Last month, 19-year-old Italian rider Samuele Privitera died following a crash in the first stage of the Tour of Valle D’Aosta in northwest Italy.
“It’s really sad to lose another young talent,” four-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar said the day after the crash. “It is one of the most dangerous sports in the world, I think, and the risk that we are taking sometimes is too far.”
