Breaking News: A World-First for 2027!

Previously used in pro and open fields only, RaceRanger is changing the game, and all age-group male and female athletes will all be fitted.

What does that mean for you?

• Fairer racing for everyone
• Greater confidence in results
• A level playing field, no matter your category

This is a major step forward for the sport, and you’ll be part of it!

“We’re really pleased to be here — this is what we’ve been working towards for a long time,” said James Elvery, RaceRanger CEO and Co-founder.

For this event, the system will operate exactly as it does for the pros today: each athlete will be issued two devices (one front, one rear), and the drafting lights system is unchanged. However, in the age-group context, RaceRanger will add value not just in a drafting detection capacity, but also as a live tracking system, giving athletes’ families and supporters a moving dot to follow around the bike course in real time, alongside a number of other metrics.

The same live tracking opens up a meaningful safety dimension for event organisers. Race control will have a live view of every athlete’s location on the bike course at all times. If an athlete stops, comes off or is otherwise in difficulty, organisers can see it immediately and respond — particularly valuable on long, remote courses where riders are spread out over many kilometres of road.

Race Ranger’s use for Age Grouper’s is for athletes to experience the same cutting edge technology that is common place for pro fields globally. The intent is for age groupers to use this technoogy to enhance their experience of the race and provide the ability for friends and family to track their athlete on course. Just like the Pro Fields, Race Referee’s use this technology to assist them in their live decision making, it does not replace that. It is just proving more information, and removes the naked eye distance measurements for both athletes and referees.

Race referee’s will still use their judgement with drafting on course and will still make live assessments of the situation in areas where it is impossible not to draft, i.e. in congested areas / coming into aid stations. Age group data will not be shared publicly post-race.

“We were the first event in the world to trial RaceRanger back in January 2023, so being the first to use it across the whole field feels like the natural next chapter for us and a really exciting prospect for age groupers to use this technology,” said Lauren Watson, Event Director, Loan Market Oceanside Tauranga Half. “The safety side is just as important to us as the drafting fairness. Knowing where every athlete is on the bike course at all times is a meaningful step forward for any event director.”

2027 isn’t just another year – it’s a milestone.

Be there to experience it. Entries open Monday 11 May.