The UCI has retired the number 84 for all future UCI Road World Championships junior women’s road races as a mark of respect towards Muriel Furrer, who passed away during last year’s event.
The Swiss junior rider suffered a serious head injury after crashing in the Zurich road race last September, and died after being airlifted to hospital.
“We don’t know exactly what happened, that’s the job of the police, they are working on it, to figure out the conditions of how the accident happened,” said Lappartient at the time.
Questions were also asked as to whether the use of race radios – prohibited in World Championships races – could have meant Furrer received earlier medical attention.
Most recently the UCI trialled the use of GPS trackers at the Tour de Romandie Féminin, and all riders are using them in this week’s World Championships. This comes as part of the governing body’s SafeR initiative, with the specific aim of being able to quickly locate a stopped rider – for example in a crash situation like that of Furrer.
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