"The accident could not have been prevented, but what happened next certainly could": organizers work on GPS after Furrer's death

The organizers of the Tour of Switzerland, the Tour of Austria, and the Deutschland Tour want to work with GPS trackers in the future to keep track of crashed riders. The reason for this is the deaths of Gino Mäder, André Drege, and Muriel Furrer. All three were killed after crashing during the race.

Mäder died last year in the Tour of Switzerland. The Swiss rider crashed at high speed on the descent of the Albulapass in stage six. The fact that the finish almost followed the descent resulted in much criticism on the part of the organization afterward. After all, riders take a lot of risk with a victory or classification at stake.

Just over a year later followed the tragic death of Norwegian Drege. He, too, died after a heavy crash on a descent. As if things couldn't get any worse, 18-year-old Furrer lost her life after a crash at the World Junior Championship road race in Zurich. She also crashed in a descent. The fact, in particular, that no one knew where she was for an extended time raised questions in the cycling world. The placement of GPS trackers on the riders or bikes was quickly suggested, and some organizers now want to work on this, with or without the UCI.

Senn: "We won't ask the UCI for it"

"For me, it is clear that we can no longer operate without it," Radsport quotes Olivier Senn on behalf of the Tour of Switzerland. According to him, it cannot be explained that with all today's technological possibilities, riders are untraceable in the race. "Unfortunately, we had to learn that painfully," he refers to Furrer's fatal accident. "I only truly realized it afterward when you try to explain to people why things are still the way they are. It's actually impossible to explain! We flew to the moon 50 years ago and lost a female athlete in a cycling race in Switzerland. You can't explain that to anyone. It should not happen."

Senn is certainly not planning to wait for the UCI to introduce the ability to track riders via GPS. "Our sport has to evolve. It will take time, collectively, and that's why we, as organizers, will just say, We're doing this now! Because the accident itself probably could not have been prevented, but what happened afterward certainly could have been prevented, and it cannot happen again," said a determined Senn, who continued: "We're definitely going to do it, and we won't ask the UCI for it. (...) We see it as our duty to do the maximum, not just talk about it. But of course, we welcome anyone who would join us."

Senn has already found a united partner in Thomas Pupp (Tour of Austria). "If the UCI does not take action, then we have to do it, and maybe one result of this discussion could be that the three rounds in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, ed.) implement this next year. Maybe we can get others to follow this example," Pupp said.

Switzerland and Austria on board; Wegmann wants to but depends on the ASO

Race director of the Deutschland Tour and former rider Fabian Wegmann also sees implementing GPS trackers as a step in the right direction. According to him, however, the GPS sensor should not be placed on the bike. "It makes no sense to put a GPS sensor on the bicycle. If the bike is replaced in case of a malfunction, the sensor is gone," his reasoning goes. Whereas Senn and Pupp are determined to put their words into action, Wegmann cannot make such a promise. After all, "his race" is organized by Tour organization ASO, so he is not in control. Should the ASO choose to use GPS trackers, it would also apply to all ASO races.

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