FILE PHOTO: Cycling - UCI World Championships 2024 - Men's Elite Road Race - Zurich, Switzerland - September 29, 2024 Flowers and a Swiss flag are pictured in tribute to Muriel Furrer who died after sustaining injuries in a crash during the junior women's road race at the world championships in Zurich, Switzerland, September 27, 2024 REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
LONDON (Reuters) - All riders at this year's cycling Road World Championships will have GPS trackers fitted to their bikes to improve safety, world governing body the UCI said on Friday.
Tragedy struck last year's championships in Switzerland when Swiss teenager Muriel Furrer died following a crash in the junior women's road race near Zurich.
According to media reports, Furrer lay alone at the side of the road for an hour and a half before being discovered and later died as a result of a head injury.
The UCI said the SafeR tracking technology was tested during three stages at the Tour de Romandie Feminin in Switzerland in August and would be used in Rwanda.
It said all riders, including in the junior and under-23 categories up to the elite racers, would have a tracking device fitted under the saddle of their bikes to allow real-time monitoring of their locations.
In the event of a crash or sudden change in speed the device would allow for 'immediate identification of any unusual situations, such as a rider suddenly stopping on the course', said the UCI.
"The UCI, together with SafeR and in close collaboration with all stakeholders of professional road cycling, is constantly working to improve the safety of riders," UCI President David Lappartient said.
"The introduction of a GPS safety tracking system for riders is important and necessary progress in this regard.
"Thanks to this system, any incident or accident that might have gone unnoticed can be quickly identified, and it will be possible to assist the person concerned as quickly as possible by mobilising those already on the ground and the emergency services."
The Road World Championships begins this weekend in Kigali -- the first time Africa has ever staged the event.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)
