A new wearable airbag safety device for cyclists has made it onto Time magazine's list of best inventions in 2026.
Belgian company Aerobag's device is among 15 entries in the magazine's list under the 'sports & fitness' category, among a total of 300 inventions "making the world better, smarter, and more fun" this year, Time say.
Aerobag is a system fitted into the straps of bib shorts which, according to the company, "uses nine sensors scanning 200 times per second to monitor body dynamics and detect crash anomalies". The airbag "deploys in 100 milliseconds" when it's triggered before folding back into place, allowing the rider to continue racing afterwards.
The Aerobag team, headed by Bert Celis, spent six years developing the Aerobag. They began work on the device after Bjorg Lambrecht's death at the 2019 Tour de Pologne.
"It was a fairly innocuous kind of accident, the sort of thing that could happen, and does happen, literally, in every race," Aerobag co-founder Quinton Van Loggerenberg told Cyclingnews in January.
"You're sending athletes down the road at 60, 70, 90k an hour in lycra. And that was it. That was the catalyst. My mission, my absolute mission, is that you, as a rider, wake up at home. You don't wake up in the back of an ambulance."
It remains to be seen whether wearable airbags such as Aerobag will make it to professional cycling.
The brand is are already working with several kit manufacturers including Nalini, Nimbl, and MOA, with Picnic PostNL and Visma-Lease a Bike having already tested the device.
Meanwhile, back in February, the UCI launched a consultation on the use of wearable safety technology. The governing body invited 'expressions of interest' from relevant parties to form working groups.
"Already in contact with several players in the sector, the UCI now wishes to broaden the initiative to the greatest number possible of manufacturers and institutes working on the development of airbags and technical apparel for cyclists," the UCI stated at the time.
"The objectives of this initiative are as follows... Regarding airbag systems: to define a clear framework and appropriate standards to enable the development and integration of such devices into cycling (in competition and training); Regarding technical apparel: to study the integration of airbag solutions into clothing and to identify ways to further strengthen the protection offered by textiles."
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