“Regrettable and unfortunate” – Tour de Romandie organisers blame teams and UCI for disqualification nightmare

The 2025 Tour de Romandie Féminin descended into controversy before it had even begun, with six WorldTour squads disqualified on the opening day. Team Visma | Lease a Bike, AG Insurance-Soudal, EF-Oatly-Cannondale, Canyon//SRAM, Team Picnic PostNL, and Lidl-Trek were all excluded by the UCI over a dispute about the implementation of a new GPS tracking system.

In a press release, the organisers made their frustration clear: “We find it regrettable and unfortunate, to say the least, that a positive solution could not be found.” They continued, “The subsequent disqualifications directly impact the sporting aspect of the race. They also affect preparations for the following races and disadvantage the riders of the teams, the spectators, and everyone involved in the Tour de Romandie Féminin. It is, to say the least, regrettable and unfortunate.”

The GPS system in question was being trialled to track riders in real time, a move driven by safety concerns following several fatal incidents in the sport, most notably the death of Muriel Furrier at last year’s Zurich World Championships, when she crashed into the woods and was not found for some time.

Teams were told they would have to fit the devices to their bikes themselves and accept liability for any loss or damage during crashes or other race incidents. Their refusal to accept those conditions left the UCI with little room for compromise, prompting a decision that has left the race depleted and the atmosphere tense.

Jonathan Vaughters blasted the UCI’s role in the situation, “Using a World Tour event as a testing ground is wrong. Beyond that, once you’ve chosen to impose your will; refusing to select which riders get to be the victims and throwing that decision on the teams? Not right. And then disqualifying teams for not choosing the victim?”

But, the UCI said, “The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) regrets that certain teams on the start list for the Tour de Romandie Féminin have refused to comply with the rules for the race related to the implementation of GPS trackers as a test for a new safety system.”

“The decision of these teams to oppose the specific rules for the event is surprising, and undermines the cycling family’s efforts to ensure the safety of all riders in road cycling by developing this new technology. It is deplorable to witness the refusal of certain teams to move forward together to protect the safety of riders, and the UCI condemns their non-cooperation.”