UCI takes action on safety: First tested in women’s race, then rolled out at Rwanda World Championships

The debate about safety in cycling has been going on for decades, but recent cycling accidents continue to fuel the discussion. Murriel Furrer died last year at the World Championships in Switzerland, while André Drege died two months earlier in the Tour of Austria.

Furrer's death in particular sparked the debate about GPS tracking. The 18-year-old Swiss cyclist reportedly lay next to the road for a long time after her fall, and the emergency services only found her after about an hour and a half (!). A bizarre situation, and one that really highlighted the need for change.

That change now seems to be coming, as the UCI has confirmed that the riders in the women's race of the Tour de Romandie will be tracked. “The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), in collaboration with the Tour de Romandie Féminin and participating teams, will conduct a test of a GPS safety tracking system during this year’s edition of the UCI Women’s WorldTour stage race (15-17 August),” according to the statement.

“This initiative, part of the UCI’s and SafeR’s ongoing efforts to enhance rider safety in professional road cycling, will see one rider per team carry a GPS tracking device,” the cycling union continued. “The same technology will be deployed at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda, where all riders will carry the device.”

The aim of the test? “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. This system will strengthen the monitoring of rider safety during races and enable rapid response in case of incidents.”

The UCI, therefore, considers this an important step. “This represents an important step forward in ensuring the safety of riders, and the UCI will continue to work closely with event organisers and all stakeholders on the broader implementation of such technology in the coming seasons.”