The Union Cycliste Internationale -UCI- announced the exclusion of several teams that did not comply with the specific regulations of the Tour de Romandie Féminin, which required the use of GPS tracking devices as part of a pilot safety test. The measure affects the three-stage event that is part of the UCI Women’s WorldTour.
According to the organization, teams were required to designate one rider to carry the 63-gram device during the three days of racing. “The refusal to take part in this test undermines the efforts of the entire cycling family to improve rider safety,” the UCI stated in a press release.
A test ahead of the Road World Championships
The trial of this technology, developed together with technical partner Swiss Timing, aims to fine-tune a tracking system providing real-time data to race direction, commissaires and medical teams. The UCI confirmed that the same tool will be implemented at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda, where all riders will be required to carry the device.
The structure in charge of road cycling safety, SafeR, has been responsible for promoting the project. It brings together representatives of organizers (Association Internationale des Organisateurs de Courses Cyclistes -AIOCC-), teams (Association Internationale des Groupes Cyclistes Professionnels -AIGCP-), and riders through the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés -CPA- and CPA Women.
Negative impact “on an international event”
Among the teams that refused to take part in the GPS test and will therefore not line up at the Tour de Romandie Féminin are Canyon//Sram zondacrypto, EF Education – Oatly, Lidl – Trek, Team Picnic PostNL, and Team Visma | Lease a Bike. “It is regrettable that the actions of certain teams negatively affect an international event of this magnitude,” said the UCI.
Most of the excluded squads are part of Velon, the organization that owns its own data transmission system and is developing a proprietary GPS tracking technology. This adds a technological rivalry component to the conflict with the UCI.
The UCI “condemns their lack of cooperation”
The Tour de Romandie Féminin features a route with three different formats: individual time trial, road stage and circuit race. These characteristics make the competition an appropriate testing ground to evaluate the system’s effectiveness under various racing conditions. The UCI thanked the organizing committee for its cooperation in facilitating the implementation of the trial.
The world governing body for cycling stressed that its priority is to ensure rider safety and confirmed that it will continue working with stakeholders across the peloton to achieve this goal. “It is deplorable to witness the refusal of certain teams to move forward together to protect participants, and the UCI condemns their lack of cooperation,” the federation stated.
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