The UCI wants to move real-time safety tracking beyond trials and the Road World Championships by creating rules for its use across professional road racing, starting with the men’s and women’s WorldTours in a move that follows more than a year of discussion around GPS tracking of riders.
The proposal, shared in an announcement on Friday September 4, follows the death of Finlay Tarling (NSN Development Team) at the Volta a Portugal, which has prompted calls from across the sport to reform safety measures.
The governing body will develop protocols and regulations for a dedicated GPS-based safety system, beginning with the men’s and women’s WorldTours before expanding it across professional road racing. The proposal was discussed at the Professional Cycling Council meeting in Aigle, Switzerland, on September 1 and 2.
A separate proposal would make barriers meeting new safety standards compulsory in the final hundreds of metres at WorldTour races from the 2027 season. Both measures require approval from the UCI Management Committee, which meets in Montréal from September 20 to 22 during the Road World Championships.
Tarling died aged 19 following a collision during stage 8 of the Volta a Portugal on August 14. As we reported after the incident, while Tarling was behind the main peloton, a member of the public was driving a light goods vehicle the wrong way along the course.
Portugal’s National Republican Guard opened an investigation. The stage was neutralised and the podium ceremony cancelled, while NSN withdrew its development squad from the remaining stages.
What the GPS and barrier rules would cover
The tracking system would allow race officials to see the location of riders and vehicles in real time. The UCI said it wanted the technology introduced “as quickly as possible”, despite stakeholders failing to agree on a joint proposal before the PCC meeting.
The governing body has not identified the equipment riders and vehicles would carry, who would monitor the information or whether any location data would be available publicly. It has also given no timetable for extending the requirement beyond the WorldTour and Women’s WorldTour.
A version of the system covered every category at the 2025 Road World Championships in Kigali. It will be used again at the 2026 championships in Montréal and at subsequent editions of the event.
UCI President David Lappartient said stakeholders needed to move beyond disagreements and work together on safety. The UCI’s account of his position said that “safety must never be sacrificed for commercial interests” – which may be a reference to disagreements over GPS data ownership and use involving several Velon member teams.
Race vehicles have already been part of the safety debate this season. In February, Remco Evenepoel criticised the number and proximity of motorbikes, arguing that tighter controls were needed over vehicles admitted to courses.
The proposed barrier rule comes from SafeR, the body responsible for safety across men’s and women’s road racing. Approved barriers would have to comply with standards derived from research by the Haute École Spécialisée de Suisse Occidentale Valais-Wallis.
The UCI has not published the technical specifications, the precise distance from the finish covered by the requirement or its planned compliance process. WorldTour and Women’s WorldTour races would adopt the standard first in 2027, with other race categories following later.
The barrier measure follows further concerns this season, including an incident at the Tour of Flanders in which a barrier gave way and a spectator fell into Mathieu van der Poel’s path.
The Management Committee’s Montréal meeting will determine whether the PCC proposals enter the UCI regulations. Until that approval, neither measure is in force.
A GoFundMe page for the family of Finlay Tarling is accepting donations here.
