Professional cyclists can top 100 km/h. But safety has not kept pace — and people are dying

Riders emerge from yellow smoke for the final kilometres of the 2nd stage of the 113th Tour de France on July 5 in Barcelona. At least 11 cyclists have died in professional events and training races this year, prompting a call for better safety measures. (Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images)Social SharingAs the world's top cyclists descend upon Montreal for the UCI Road World Championships, there's a spectre looming over the event.

At least 11 of their compatriots have died in professional races and training rides this year, adding to a growing tally of injuries and deaths in the elite sport. 

Though safety gear is being developed alongside the evolution of bicycles that can move faster than ever before, an underlying conflict remains in the sport: at what point must safety trump speed? 

Right now, the average speed of the Tour de France winner is 43.3 km/h, set in 2026 — exactly 19 km/h faster than the average speed set by the winner 100 years ago. On the descents, riders now reach upwards of 100 km/h.

Safety technology that might slow riders down, such as wider handlebars, are being considered by the governing body, Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), and SafeR, an international safety taskforce. Other measures being floated include choosing safer courses, tracking riders in real-time and adopting protective equipment like airbags.

But it has divided riders, some of whom argue that slowing bikes down goes against the spirit of professional cycling — and even those within SafeR, like Adam Hansen, have doubts.

"It's hard to get my head around this, because that's the whole purpose of the sport, is to go as fast as possible," said Hansen, a former professional Australian cyclist and current president of the pro cyclists' union. 

Canada's Michael Woods crosses the finish line during the 13th stage of the Tour de France cycling race on July 19, 2019. He retired in 2025 after he says he endured between 30 and 40 crashes during his career, but decided to race one more time at the worlds in Montreal. (Christophe Ena/The Associated Press)Others, like Canada's Michael Woods — who estimates he has endured between 30 and 40 crashes — says changes are critical to prevent future fatalities.

"The bike that I'm on now versus the bike that I first started racing on [in 2010] is night and day," said Woods, whose professional racing career took him across Europe, including winning a stage of the 2023 Tour de France.

"The speeds that you can hit are far higher. But the rules … haven't caught up and that's made the sport far more dangerous."

Woods and Hansen believe that GPS trackers, which will be used in Montreal, should be mandatory in all races. The trackers will sit underneath the bike's saddle and can transmit real-time data to a central location so that rescuers can respond immediately in the case of a crash.

Earlier this month, against the backdrop of the Aug. 14 death of 19-year-old British rider Finlay Tarling at the Volta race in Portugal, UCI "stressed the urgent need to put in place, as quickly as possible, a dedicated safety system allowing the real-time location of riders and vehicles to be tracked at all professional road cycling events."

The statement also noted that "in discussions on safety, stakeholders need to move past any disagreements on certain issues and act together."

Cyclists line up before the 2026 Canadian Road Championships in Saint-Georges, Que., in June. (John Chipman/CBC)Muriel Furrer's legacyGPS trackers for pro cycling were introduced at the UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda last year following the death of Muriel Furrer.

The 18-year-old Swiss cyclist lay critically injured for an hour and 20 minutes after she careened off the wet, leaf-strewn road into a secluded wooded area during the 2024 championships in Zurich. She was airlifted to hospital and later died. 

Woods, who was at that competition, recalls how the race continued even after Furrer's death.

" The sport's wild in that sense," he said. "When a rider passes away, it's sad. Everyone's impacted by it, but they didn't cancel the event.

"It's the same with other incidents ... where I've raced where professional riders have died [where] maybe we took things a bit easier the next day, or had a moment of silence — but the race continued."

A photo of Swiss cyclist Muriel Furrer, 18, and a Swiss flag at a makeshift memorial in Zurich, on Sept. 29, 2024, on the sidelines of the UCI 2024 Road World Championships. Furrer died after a serious crash at the event. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)Woods retired from professional cycling last year, because he no longer felt he could race safely. In March 2020, he broke his right femur during the Paris-Nice race. Last year, he woke up in an ambulance with a broken collarbone and a severe concussion after crashing out at the Milano-Torino race. 

He's decided, however, to race one last time at the Road World Championships this week so he can end his career in Canada instead of abroad.

While GPS trackers can ensure riders will get faster medical attention following a crash, they don't prevent injury itself. Airbags, meanwhile, might help.

In January, UCI put out a call for airbags that could be part of a bike frame and for those that could integrate into a cyclist's clothing.

The latter can be part of bike pants, said Hansen, and has straps around the shoulders. 

"When it goes off, it actually puts a ring around your neck area, and it actually covers your collarbone," he said. "It really protects your spine, protects your neck ... [and] goes almost up to your helmet."

Several prototypes are in development, he said. The challenge in the past has been creating something light enough that it won't hinder a rider's speed or their movement.

At least two World Tour teams (Picnic PostNL and Visma-Lease a Bike) are testing out the Aerobag, according to Cycling News. It's not yet on the market nor has it been approved for UCI races; it's unclear exactly when such a measure might be adopted.

Other sports have adopted similar airbags, both in downhill skiing and recreational motorcyclists.

Speed isn't the only factor in these crashes.

Woods says UCI has been studying the design of cycling courses, and found that the same elements that make recreational cyclists safer — such as bike lanes with bollards, speed bumps or roundabouts — can be hazardous in a race.

Canadian cyclist Alex Volstad says that when she's in a tight group of riders, known as a peloton, she has limited visibility and may be slower to react. 

"Sometimes if it hits you by surprise, then you can get a bit, like, bucked off your bike, like you're riding a horse," she said.

In 2026, for example, a bottleneck of riders approaching a roundabout in the Tour of Oman created a major pileup before the final sprint, knocking some off their bikes.

Alex Volstad, who won both the Canadian U23 time trial national title and the U23 road race championship in June, said that the measures that make roads safer for recreational cyclists are hazardous in a race. (John Chipman/CBC)It's one of the reasons race organizers often favour rural areas, like Saint-Georges, Que., where nationals were held this year, because there's less infrastructure on the road to endanger competitors. 

Sometimes, though, it's the simple things that can make a difference, says Michael Barry, a retired professional road racer — like your eyesight.

Early in his career, he raced without his glasses, because he had a light prescription and the rain, dirt and other debris that could collect on the lenses might slow him down or worsen visibility. 

Then, he missed some gravel when he was flying down the French Alps in the ‘90s. He broke his femur in the ensuing crash.

After that, he got custom racing glasses. Soon, some of his teammates did the same, which was uncommon at the time. 

It's why he thinks riders should have to get their eyes tested. With riders going as fast as cars, he said it's critical that they have perfect eyesight.

"They're testing for every other physical attribute the riders have," he said. "So just a simple eye test would make a fairly big difference."

Laura Fraser is a senior writer and editor with CBC Radio and is based in Halifax. She writes about justice, health and the human experience. Story ideas are welcome at laura.fraser@cbc.ca