In the wake of Mäder and Furrer's fatal accidents, the Tour de Suisse (after silence from the UCI) takes action: GPS trackers for riders

Furrer died during the World Cycling Championships when she crashed in a downhill corner. She ended up off the road and lay there for almost an hour and a half before anyone found her. At the finish line, the sports director realized he was missing a rider because there were no earpieces. The UCI is still not a fan of radio communication in races. That is why another measure had to be introduced: the use of GPS trackers.

This would allow officials always to know where athletes are on the course. If Furrer had been wearing a tracker, the sports director would have known something was wrong much sooner. But the UCI was not convinced. "The problem here is not that the rider could not be tracked with her GPS, but that no one noticed she had not passed at all. If there is a possible evolution of GPS systems whereby a warning is sent to the jury members or the commissaires' cars with the message: 'Attention, this GPS sensor is no longer moving,' that would be very valuable," said UCI President David Lappartient.

The UCI is hesitant, but Oliver Senn, race director of the Tour de Suisse, has already said that he will not leave the fate of his riders to the International Cycling Union. "We can fly to the moon, but we don't know where a cyclist is in a race," he said at the time. "It simply cannot happen anymore.’ And so he wanted to introduce GPS trackers in his race at all costs. “We will definitely do it and won’t ask the UCI. It is our job as race directors to ensure the safety of the riders."

Mäder’s death after his crash in the fifth stage of the 2023 Tour de Suisse came as a shock. The race has, therefore, kept its promise. "We will be the first cycle race in the world to introduce comprehensive cyclist and convoy tracking as well as a mobile Safety Control Centre," according to a press release. "This is a first in cycling, where riders will be tracked via a GPS signal."

"The information comes together in our Safety Control Centre, where we are able to monitor the entire situation on site and take immediate action if necessary," the press release explains. It is well known that this will not prevent all accidents. "We cannot completely prevent crashes with these measures, but we are doing everything we can to ensure that all information is available to the Teams and that the consequences are as minimal as possible."