What a weird day. In what should have been an exciting Stage 1 of the Tour de Romandie Féminin, the entire event was overshadowed by controversy before the race even began. Five teams (originally thought to be six) were disqualified before they even started. Why?
The governing body said Canyon–Sram Zondacrypto, EF Education–Oatly, Lidl–Trek, Team Picnic PostNL, and Team Visma–Lease a Bike were excluded from the three-stage Women’s WorldTour race for refusing to comply with the rules to test GPS trackers for a new safety system.
In a release, the UCI said: “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 Féminin. In view of this situation, the UCI shall consider if other measures are warranted in accordance with the UCI Regulations.”
What. A. Day
The GPS units, which weigh about 63 g, were meant to assist the UCI in refining its tracking software and “establish protocols to provide real-time data to race control, medical teams and UCI Commissaires.” Each team had to assign one rider to carry the device, with the UCI saying it shared the test details with all squads last week.
But that’s where the conflict began. Risking disqualification means losing UCI points — and possibly facing further discipline. So what were those five teams taking a stand for? Safety is a priority for the riders and the squads that support them, but the optics of this dispute are not great for the UCI.
In a joint statement, the five excluded teams said:
“Earlier this week, all affected teams sent formal letters to the UCI expressing support for rider safety but raising serious concerns about the unilateral imposition of a GPS tracking device to just one of the riders per team.”
The statement added that no teams would “select a rider ourselves, nor install, remove, or maintain the device.” They argued that doing so could make a rider or mechanic liable if something went wrong.
Why the trackers are important
The reference to liability recalls the death of Swiss rider Muriel Furrer, who crashed during the junior women’s road race at the 2024 world championships in Zurich and lay undiscovered in a forest for more than 90 minutes before help arrived. At the worlds, race radios aren’t permitted — let alone GPS devices. That will change at the 2025 championships in Rwanda, where GPS trackers will be allowed.
The…
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