Cyclists to carry GPS tracking devices as part of a more comprehensive offer to improve driver safety

This week, the drivers will test on the tour of Romandie GPS tracking devices before the security measures will become mandatory for the World Road Champions in the course of this year.

The government authority of World Cycling asks a driver from every team to wear a tracking device from Friday at the three-day women's event in Switzerland.

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The same technology will then be used at the Road World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda, from September 21 to 28, where every driver from junior to elite-level-das device has to wear.

“The aim of this test is to refine the security tracking software of the UCI and to establish logs in order to provide real-time data for racing control, medical teams and UCI commissioners,” said the UCI in a statement. “This system will strengthen the monitoring of driver safety during the breeds and enable a quick reaction in the event of incidents. This represents an important step forward when ensuring the safety of the drivers.”

The 18-year-old cyclist Muriel Furrer died at the world championships last year after suffering a head injury in an accident.

She competed on regular roads at the junior women's event when she crashed in a forest area south of Zurich. Accordingly, she was alone for almost an hour and a half before she was discovered on the side of the road and flown to the hospital by helicopter.

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Two years ago, Gino Mäder suffered a fatal crash at the Tour de Suisse. The 26-year-old driver went off the street and fell against a gorge during a descent and died of his injuries the next day.

Last month, the 19-year-old Italian driver Samuele Privitera died after an accident in the first stage of the tour through Valle d'Aosta in northwestern Italy.

“It's really sad to lose another young talent,” said the four-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar the day after the crash. “It is one of the most dangerous sports in the world, I think, and the risk that we sometimes take is too far.”

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