On 30 June 2026 a workshop will be organised to discuss topics around cycling safety technology
Moderator: Steven Verstockt – Ghent University
Location: Barcelona
Coffee break included

Time 14.00-17.00

Scheduled topics
Impact detection & reduction
Tracking & communication innovations
Smart(er) prevention & warning

Each topic will begin with an introductory presentation, followed by participant pitches and a collaborative brainstorm to define requirements and next steps.

Tracking and communication innovations
The topic will start with a presentation by the Ghent University Rouback Team, which will also moderate the discussion afterwards.
Behind the Scenes of RouBack: Advancing Innovation in Race Safety
The Ghent University team will share results and insights from its first RouBack pilot, conducted during the Muurclassic for Juniors in Flanders (June 7th). Attendees will gain a unique behind-the-scenes look at the technology, its implementation, and the future roadmap. Additionally, Prof. Verstockt’s team will discuss the specific needs identified through surveys with various organizers and federations, while addressing the challenges and risks associated with this emerging technology.
This presentation serves as a catalyst for an interactive discussion and brainstorm on the future of tracking and communication within competitive cycling.

Impact detection & reduction
The topic will start with a presentation by Bert Celis from Aerobag.
The Evolution & Future of Aerobag: Shaping the Next Era of Protection
During this session, Bert Celis (Founder & CEO of Aerobag) will take you behind the scenes of the Aerobag plug-in, exploring the history of its inception and its remarkable development over the past six years. Designed for ultimate flexibility, maximal comfort and minimal weight, the Aerobag plug-in enables clothing brands to easily implement airbag technology into various products, speeding up the evolution of rider safety in performance cycling. The modular architecture opens up new possibilities for advanced protection and integration in several cycling disciplines. Following the presentation, attendees are invited to an interactive brainstorm session, where we can together discuss potential protection strategies, and explore new data gathering and sharing possibilities for collaboration and open innovation in order to align and boost all future protection developments over all cycling disciplines.

Head impact & crash data insights
The Head Impact Research Team of Loughborough University (Dr Jon Farmer, Dr Rory England, & Ben Emsley) will present recent research focused on head impact detection and reduction in cycling, spanning helmet testing, impact biomechanics and sensing technologies.
Topics will include the development of novel biofidelic headform and neck surrogates designed to better represent the real-world human response during impacts, alongside new body-first impact methodologies inspired by analyses of professional cycling crashes, where impacts rarely occur head-first.
The session will also explore instrumented cycling helmets using embedded IMUs to detect and characterise impact severity and location, as well as ongoing work investigating methods to monitor helmet damage and determine when protective performance may be compromised following an impact.
Together, these projects aim to improve understanding of real-world cycling impacts and support the development of more effective helmet testing, impact detection and injury reduction strategies.

REGISTRATION FEE WORKSHOP CYCLING SAFETY TECHNOLOGY; CYCLING 2026

(Including 10% Spanish vat)

Delegates participating in the regular Science & Cycling conference (1-2 July) can register for € 25,-
If you are not participating in the regular Science & Cycling conference (1-2 July) registration is € 50,-

We will open the registration for this as soon as we have a program available.