Following the announcement from the Tour de Suisse that it would equip all bikes and vehicles in the race convoy with GPS trackers, the UCI has said it is also looking to deliver its own approach ahead of the 2025 Road World Championships in late September.
"The UCI welcomes the initiative of the Tour de Suisse organisers to introduce advanced rider tracking," said cycling's governing body in a statement this week. "Both parties are in contact to assess the outcomes of this implementation".
The Tour de Suisse is implementing the advanced tracking following crashes that led to the death of Gino Mäder at the 2023 Tour de Suisse and Muriel Furrer at the 2024 junior women's road race at the World Championships in Zürich. The men's Tour de Suisse will run from June 15-22 and the women's Tour de Suisse from June 12-15.
Last month race director Olivier Senn outlined in a media release that, while participation would be voluntary for the teams, he hoped all would take part in the introduction of comprehensive rider tracking.
"Each bike will be fitted with a small tracker that will sound an alarm in the event of certain anomalies, such as if the bike does not move for 30 seconds, leaves the route or abruptly changes speed," said Senn. "In such cases, we are notified immediately and can react. We will also use trackers in the convoy, as each radio is equipped with a tracker. The information is gathered in the Safety Command Centre where we can monitor the entire situation and intervene immediately if necessary."
The immediacy of identification was lacking in the tragic incident involving Furrer last September, with it unknown how long she lay injured after the unseen crash at the Road World Championships.
"In parallel, the UCI is developing its own solutions, which are expected to be introduced at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda," said the cycling governing body.
"The UCI and the Tour de Suisse organisers reaffirm that rider safety remains a top priority for all those involved in men’s and women’s cycling."
