The UCI has announced that a test of a GPS tracking system for rider safety will be conducted at the upcoming Tour de Romandie Féminin (August 15-17).
One rider per team will carry a GPS tracking device at the three-day Women's WorldTour event as part of a safety initiative from the UCI and its SafeR project.
The race is a test run ahead of the UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda (September 21-28), where all riders will carry a GPS tracker.
"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," the UCI announced on Thursday.
"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 same technology will be deployed at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda, where all riders will carry the device."
The move towards utilising GPS trackers for rider safety has come in the wake of the tragic incident at last year's Worlds junior women's road race in Zürich, where Swiss rider Muriel Furrer died after crashing unnoticed on a forested part of the course.
"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 stated.
"This system will strengthen the monitoring of rider safety during races and enable rapid response in case of incidents."
It's not the first time that a top-level race has used GPS tracking devices. Organisers of the men's Tour de Suisse and the Tour de Suisse Women implemented the technology for the pair of June races – a first in professional cycling.
Both races featured a security centre with access to all rider GPS signals, race television feeds, and a weather radar. During the races, those monitoring the GPS signals would receive an alarm if any GPS tracker stopped moving for 30 seconds, if the speed of a tracker changed abnormally, or if a tracker left the road.
The UCI has not yet released details on the planned implementation of the GPS trackers or how the tracking will work for the Tour de Romandie Féminin and UCI Road World Championships. The federation did note that it would work with race organisers and stakeholders in the sport to implement the technology further.
"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," the UCI stated.
Cyclingnews has contacted the UCI for comment.
