The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) wants to define a clear framework and appropriate standards to enable the development and integration of airbags into cycling.
This is part of an initiative by cycling’s international governing body to develop protective equipment for riders in the men’s and women’s peloton, with the aim of improving safety in the event of a crash. It will also consider how to integrate airbags into cycling clothing and identify ways certain textiles can strengthen protection.
Safety has been a persistent issue in professional road cycling over the last few years. In 2023, the UCI announced the creation of SafeR, a new independent entity dedicated to improving cycling safety that was a direct response to “the trend of increasing incidents occurring in men’s and women’s professional road cycling”.
The UCI has investigated several ways to improve safety, such as the controversial plan to limit the maximum gear ratio riders can use in mass-start races and the introduction of GPS trackers.
Airbags in cycling have become a hot topic. BikeRadar revealed in January that Team Picnic PostNL will use Aerobag’s wearable airbag in training and that the company was already in talks with the UCI concerning its use.
Aerobag’s Quinton van Loggerenberg told BikeRadar the idea for an airbag for cyclists came after the death of the young Belgian rider Bjorg Lambrecht in 2019.
“[When] Bjorg Lambrecht crashed and died, we decided that there had to be a better way of sending riders down the road,” van Loggerenberg said. “You can’t send them down the road in [just] Lycra at 70km/h.”
Now the UCI says it is already “in contact with several players in the sector” and it wants to broaden the initiative “to the greatest number possible of manufacturers and institutes working on the development of airbags and technical apparel for cyclists”.
The governing body says it is “essential” to bring together the relevant parties to analyse the relevance of this equipment across disciplines, develop a regulatory framework and “encourage coherent development of protective equipment that meets the needs of riders and teams, and is in line with the industrial realities faced by manufacturers”.
The UCI invites all relevant parties to express their interest by 15 March.
“A broad consultation, in the form of working groups for each of the topics, will then be organised during 2026 with the parties who respond to this call as well as independent experts,” the UCI said.
