The UCI has reasserted its willingness to implement GPS safety trackers in races on a “widespread” basis, announcing this week that a regulatory framework and timeline for their implementation will be “developed as quickly as possible”.
The “pressing need” to introduce GPS trackers was emphasised during a meeting of the UCI’s management committee, held during the road world championships in Montreal, which also saw the approval of new rules for race barriers, the overhaul of the governing body’s 30-year-old Lugano Charter for equipment, and the implementation of female genetic testing.
The first results of an ongoing study into crashes in WorldTour races were also revealed, the data showing that injuries are more frequent and more severe among the women’s peloton, leading to lengthier recovery times.
The debate surrounding the use of GPS trackers in races has been a constant one in the cycling world since the tragic death of Muriel Furrer at the 2024 world championships in Zurich, where the Swiss junior rider was left unattended for around 85 minutes after crashing off the road.
The UCI introduced its own tracking system at last year’s road world championships in Rwanda, though attempts to secure their use across the calendar have been marred by disagreements among teams over how it will be implemented and the system that will be used.
At the women’s Tour de Suisse in 2025, five teams pulled after refusing to participate in the UCI’s planned GPS safety trial, which they claimed was carried out without a proper consultation, though the trial still went ahead.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the UCI’s management committee “stressed the pressing need to ensure the widespread deployment of GPS rider safety tracking systems”.
The UCI says it will initially focus on introducing the systems, which will enable the real-time tracking of rider and vehicle locations during races, in men’s and women’s WorldTour races, though no specific timeline has yet been revealed.
Instead, the governing body noted that “the protocols, the relevant regulatory framework, and the implementation timeline will be developed as quickly as possible”. The GPS trackers are being used once again at this week’s world championships in Montreal, the UCI stating that they will be used at all future worlds.
With the dangers of racing once again dominating the narrative in the cycling world, especially in the wake of the recent death of Fin Tarling at the Volta a Portugal, in a collision involving a member of the public driving on the course, it is no surprise that other safety measures were high on the committee’s agenda.
This week, the UCI also approved new rules for barriers used at races, in a bid to ensure all barriers installed in the last 200m meet the standards set out in a study conducted by the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland Valais-Wallis.
All WorldTour races from 2027 will be required to meet these standards, with the protocol now made available to barrier manufacturers.
A new Lugano Charter for the 2020s
The governing body, never one to shy away from meddling with technological innovation, also announced that it is setting up a new framework on equipment regulation, in consultation with stakeholders from the cycling industry.
“Cycling is a sport characterised by strong dynamism and high capacity for innovation by manufacturers in the sector,” the UCI said in its statement.
“This positive momentum reflects cycling’s growing popularity, but it must nonetheless be properly managed to avoid any excesses that could compromise safety, fairness, universality or sustainability.
“To achieve this, closer collaboration with economic stakeholders has become necessary. The aim is to consult directly with manufacturers and independent experts, without intermediaries, in order to produce objective, well-argued technical opinions based on solid data. This process will take into account the interests of manufacturers… while keeping rider safety as the absolute priority.”
According to the UCI, the new framework will be built around a number of so-called ‘Technical Committees’ each dedicated to different products, from wheels and tyres to frames, clothing, and protective equipment. Each committee will be comprised of industry representatives, independent experts, and the UCI.
A pilot phase consisting of track, gravel, and wheels committees will run until February 2027, when the framework will be rolled out across the sport.
That regulatory overhaul will coincide with plans to update the Lugano Charter, the text first penned by the UCI in October 1996 as part of its bid to clamp down on the rapid innovation and technological arms race of that decade, providing the basis of the governing body’s equipment rules ever since.
“Thirty years after its adoption, given the evolution of practices, societal issues and safety requirements, it had become necessary to undertake a review of its content,” the UCI says. A draft updated charter will be prepared and discussed through a consultation with stakeholders and manufacturers next spring.
Continuing on the subject of safety, the UCI also revealed the first findings from its ongoing study into crashes during road races. The study kicked off in March 2026 at Paris-Nice, focusing on men’s and women’s WorldTour events, and aims to help guide the governing body’s future safety measures and assess their effectiveness.
According to the data collected so far, based on 90 men’s race days and 37 women’s race days, injuries are more frequent and more severe among female riders than male riders, with a return to competition also taking on average twice as long.
Crashes in women’s races also involve an average of 4.7 riders, compared to 2.7 for men, with the need for medication attention 1.5 times higher for women than men.
Genetic testing approved
Finally, the UCI’s management committee also addressed the implementation of female genetic testing ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, in accordance with the International Olympic Committee’s guiding principles for “protecting the female category”, published earlier this year.
On this basis, only biological women who do not carry the SRY gene will be able to compete in the female category in races. The gene, located on the Y chromosome, triggers testosterone production at puberty.
The IOC’s stance was validated by the management committee, with the regulation set to be submitted for approval by the end of 2026. It will apply only to events recognised by the IOC, with the results of a single confidential test applicable for the duration of the athlete’s career.
In 2023, the UCI updated its rules concerning the participation of female transgender cyclists in international competition, prohibiting women who transitioned after male puberty from competing in all women’s events on the UCI calendar.
