The issue of safety has dominated professional road cycling since the tragic deaths of Gino Mäder at the 2023 Tour du Suisse and Muriel Furrer at the 2024 UCI World Road Championships. The sport’s international governing body has reacted by rolling out a series of initiatives that have been met with a mixed reaction, as critics contest that their reforms are too slow, inconsistent and even illogical.
Dan Bigham, head of engineering at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, went so far as to say that without effective safety measures, the sport is close to its 'Formula 1 Ayrton Senna moment'.
