All riders will use GPS trackers at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda, cycling’s governing body the UCI has said.
The measure is part of the UCI’s SafeR initiative, which aims to enhance rider safety in professional road cycling.
The UCI says the technology will be tested at the Tour de Romandie Féminin, which gets underway on 15 August. One rider per team will carry a GPS tracking 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 released yesterday.
“This system will strengthen the monitoring of rider safety during races and enable rapid response in case of incidents.”
The decision comes after 18-year-old Muriel Furrer died following a crash in a junior World Championship race last year in Zurich, Switzerland. Furrer reportedly lay alone for almost an hour and a half and had suffered a serious head injury. She later died at Zurich University hospital.
Race radios are not allowed during the World Championships.
UCI president David Lappartient later suggested he was open to riders using GPS tracking. “It would enable us to see where they are if they have a crash,” he told Cyclist.
The 2025 Tour de Suisse introduced rider and convoy tracking. Competitors were fitted with trackers that sounded if there were 'anomalies'.
In 2023, Gino Mäder died following a high-speed crash at the Tour de Suisse.
The UCI says the introduction of GPS trackers is “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”.
The 2025 Road World Championships will take place between 21–28 September.
