Latest news with #RoadWorldChampionships
Express Tribune
4 days ago
- Express Tribune
Teams barred from Tour de Romandie
Several major cycling teams were disqualified from the Tour de Romandie Feminin by cycling's governing body UCI before the race even started on Friday after refusing to comply with the rules to test GPS trackers for a new safety system. UCI said Canyon-Sram zondacrypto, EF Education-Oatly, Lidl-Trek, Team Picnic PostNL and Team Visma-Lease a Bike were the teams excluded from the three-stage UCI Women's WorldTour event. "The UCI regrets that certain teams have objected to the test by not nominating a rider to carry the tracking device and have therewith opted to be excluded from the Tour de Romandie Feminin," it said in a statement. "In view of this situation, the UCI shall consider if other measures are warranted in accordance with the UCI Regulations." The 63-gram GPS devices were intended to help UCI refine tracking software and "establish protocols to provide real-time data to race control, medical teams and UCI Commissaires." Each team was required to have one test rider carry the device, with UCI saying details of the test were communicated to all teams last week. The safety initiative takes on added urgency following the death of 18-year-old Muriel Furrer, who died from injuries sustained in a crash during the junior women's road race at last year's world championships. The teenager crashed in a wooded area after leaving the road and was found 90 minutes later by a track marshal before being airlifted to hospital. "This system will strengthen the monitoring of rider safety during races and enable rapid response in case of incidents," UCI added. "The initiative is part of the UCI's ongoing efforts to protect rider safety, and broader implementation of this technology is envisaged for coming seasons. UCI said the technology will be deployed at this year's Road World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda, where all riders will carry the device. "It should be noted that most of these teams are part of the Velon organisation which is the owner of its own data transmission system and is working on the development of its own GPS tracking system," it added.
Express Tribune
4 days ago
- Express Tribune
Teams disqualified from Women's Tour de Romandie
Several major cycling teams were disqualified from the Tour de Romandie Feminin by cycling's governing body UCI before the race even started on Friday after refusing to comply with the rules to test GPS trackers for a new safety system. UCI said Canyon-Sram zondacrypto, EF Education-Oatly, Lidl-Trek, Team Picnic PostNL and Team Visma-Lease a Bike were the teams excluded from the three-stage UCI Women's WorldTour event. "The UCI regrets that certain teams have objected to the test by not nominating a rider to carry the tracking device and have therewith opted to be excluded from the Tour de Romandie Feminin," it said in a statement. "In view of this situation, the UCI shall consider if other measures are warranted in accordance with the UCI Regulations." The 63-gram GPS devices were intended to help UCI refine tracking software and "establish protocols to provide real-time data to race control, medical teams and UCI Commissaires." Each team was required to have one test rider carry the device, with UCI saying details of the test were communicated to all teams last week. The safety initiative takes on added urgency following the death of 18-year-old Muriel Furrer, who died from injuries sustained in a crash during the junior women's road race at last year's world championships. The teenager crashed in a wooded area after leaving the road and was found 90 minutes later by a track marshal before being airlifted to hospital. "This system will strengthen the monitoring of rider safety during races and enable rapid response in case of incidents," UCI added. "The initiative is part of the UCI's ongoing efforts to protect rider safety, and broader implementation of this technology is envisaged for coming seasons. UCI said the technology will be deployed at this year's Road World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda, where all riders will carry the device. "It should be noted that most of these teams are part of the Velon organisation which is the owner of its own data transmission system and is working on the development of its own GPS tracking system," it added.
The Star
4 days ago
- The Star
Cycling-Teams disqualified from Women's Tour de Romandie in row over UCI's GPS trackers
(Reuters) -Several major cycling teams were disqualified from the Tour de Romandie Feminin by cycling's governing body UCI before the race even started on Friday after refusing to comply with the rules to test GPS trackers for a new safety system. UCI said Canyon-Sram zondacrypto, EF Education-Oatly, Lidl-Trek, Team Picnic PostNL and Team Visma-Lease a Bike were the teams excluded from the three-stage UCI Women's WorldTour event. "The UCI regrets that certain teams have objected to the test by not nominating a rider to carry the tracking device and have therewith opted to be excluded from the Tour de Romandie Feminin," it said in a statement. "In view of this situation, the UCI shall consider if other measures are warranted in accordance with the UCI Regulations." The 63-gram GPS devices were intended to help UCI refine tracking software and "establish protocols to provide real-time data to race control, medical teams and UCI Commissaires." Each team was required to have one test rider carry the device, with UCI saying details of the test were communicated to all teams last week. The safety initiative takes on added urgency following the death of 18-year-old Muriel Furrer, who died from injuries sustained in a crash during the junior women's road race at last year's world championships. The teenager crashed in a wooded area after leaving the road and was found 90 minutes later by a track marshal before being airlifted to hospital. "This system will strengthen the monitoring of rider safety during races and enable rapid response in case of incidents," UCI added. "The initiative is part of the UCI's ongoing efforts to protect rider safety, and broader implementation of this technology is envisaged for coming seasons. UCI said the technology will be deployed at this year's Road World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda, where all riders will carry the device. "It should be noted that most of these teams are part of the Velon organisation which is the owner of its own data transmission system and is working on the development of its own GPS tracking system," it added. 'SHOCKED AND DISAPPOINTED' In a joint statement, affected teams said they were "shocked and disappointed" by UCI's decision, adding that they had sent formal letters raising concerns about the "unilateral imposition of a GPS tracking device to just one of the riders" on each team. "We made clear that we would not select a rider ourselves, nor install, remove, or maintain the device," they said. "The UCI or its partner was free to select a rider and install the device at their own liability if they believe they are in their right to do so." The teams added that they already had a "proven and collaborative safety tracking system" in place. "The reason why they don't want to nominate a rider themselves is still unknown and unanswered," they added. "Despite multiple requests by the teams over the last two days, the UCI commissaires were unable to demonstrate on the basis of which precise UCI rule teams are obligated to discriminate one rider against other riders in terms of obligations. "This action disregards the rights of teams and riders, applies the measure in a discriminatory manner, and contradicts the UCI's own stated commitment to dialogue with stakeholders." (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Pritha Sarkar)
New York Times
07-08-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
UCI to introduce rider trackers at World Championships following Muriel Furrer death
Rider trackers are set to be introduced by the UCI at next month's Road World Championships in Rwanda, one year after the death of 18-year-old Muriel Furrer at last year's competition. The GPS safety technology will first be trialled at the Tour de Romandie Féminin next week, starting on August 15. Advertisement Furrer crashed in Zurich on September 27 last year, passing away in hospital one day later. She was competing in the junior women's road race course, which began just 20 minutes from her hometown of Egg. A subsequent investigation by The Athletic found that Furrer had been lying undiscovered in the forest for an hour and a half before receiving medical attention. Her bicycle did not possess a safety tracker. Instead, it had a transponder which recorded when riders passed through checkpoints but didn't offer full tracking, and was for rider identification instead of safety. The Athletic was also told of two separate parties which offered local organisers and the UCI use of publicly-accessible tracking systems ahead of the race. Neither of these were taken up, with issues over the timescale and data-usage being blamed. A Swiss police investigation into Furrer's death is currently taking place, which, as of late July, has not been completed. Speaking to The Athletic last December, the UCI stated that: 'The UCI, in its role as governing body, is currently exploring potential software and hardware developments that would enable the broadest number of event organisers and teams to access localisation data live and at all times as well as ensuring that in-race devices also serve for safety whenever possible.' Thursday afternoon's announcement represents the first time that the UCI will have made safety trackers mandatory in one of their races. The Tour de Suisse, whose race director, Olivier Senn, was the local organiser in charge of last year's world championships, introduced rider and convoy tracking at the race's latest edition in June. '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,' read the UCI's statement. Advertisement 'The same technology will be deployed at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda, where all riders will carry the 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. This system will strengthen the monitoring of rider safety during races and enable rapid response in case of incidents. '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 Road World Championships are due to take place between September 21 to 28, it is the first time that the African continent has hosted them. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
LeMonde
11-07-2025
- Sport
- LeMonde
Young African cycling hopefuls train in Brittany during Tour de France 2025
After 197 kilometers of racing from Saint-Malo in the Tour de France stage on Friday, July 11, riders will tackle the Mûr-de-Bretagne climb. With its two kilometers of ascent at a 6.9% gradient, the course profile is not favorable to 2024 green jersey holder Biniam Girmay, whose sprinting skills will not come into play on the stage. Still, the Eritrean may have reason to celebrate at the finish line, which is not far from Gomené, a village of 550 inhabitants near Loudéac in France's Côtes-d'Armor department. The International Cycling Union (UCI) has established a training center for Africa's most promising riders there, including some of Girmay's compatriots from Intermarché-Wanty. Seeing the world The initiative is part of the Africa 2025 project launched by the UCI World Cycling Centre in 2022 to prepare for this year's Road World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda, from September 21 to 28. It will be the first time the event takes place on the African continent. With Africa 2025, the Swiss-based organization aims to develop professional cycling on the continent and see more African riders in major international races.
