Airbags in the Downhill World Cup: Will this safety feature soon become compulsory?

It is still unclear how many drivers are actually using the systems. Officially, neither the teams nor the manufacturers are speaking openly about it. But the topic has long been a talking point in the paddock.

No balloon round my neck

Anyone who compares the pictures from the World Cup with those of the well-known bicycle airbags will immediately spot the difference.

Probably the best-known bicycle airbag in Germany is the Mase Airding by the Bavarian company MASE. The system is housed in a rucksack and primarily protects the head, cervical spine and shoulders. Sensors track position and movement hundreds of times per second and deploy the airbag in less than 150 milliseconds. The system gained widespread recognition not least thanks to presenter Kai Pflaume, whose videos of his falls have been viewed millions of times. We, too, were able to get a first-hand look at the technology at Eurobike 2025.

However, the vests used in downhill cycling operate on a completely different principle. Instead of an inflatable collar, the airbag wraps around the chest, back and sides like a second protective vest. The design is modelled on motor sport and is intended to protect the entire upper body in the event of a severe impact.

From motorbikes to skis to the trail

High speeds, hard surfaces and heavy impacts – the parallels between motorcycling, skiing and downhill cycling are obvious.

However, the roots of airbag technology do not lie in mountain biking. Alpinestars has been developing its Tech-Air system for motorcycling for around two decades. Dainese first introduced its D-Air system on the racetrack and later in the Ski World Cup – long before it found its way onto mountain bikes.

According to insiders, the system that was most recently triggered by World Cup pro Amaury Pierron comes from his clothing sponsor, DHaRCO. However, Pierron and Jordan Williams are not the first to bring airbags to the Downhill World Cup. As early as 2024, Canyon Factory Racing, in collaboration with Dainese, used the D-air vest, including on Troy Brosnan.

The operating principle is similar to that used in motorcycling and skiing: acceleration and rotational rate sensors continuously monitor the rider’s movements. If the algorithm detects a typical fall pattern, the airbag deploys within a few milliseconds – even before impact. The additional padding protects the chest, back and sides and distributes the impact energy over a wide area. However, it is not yet known exactly how the systems developed by Pierron and Williams work in detail.

The Ski World Cup as a precedent

What has happened in this context within the sport of skiing is particularly fascinating. After almost ten years of development work, the FIS (Fédération Internationale de Ski) initially introduced airbags on a gradual basis. Since the 2024/25 season, they have been compulsory in the speed disciplines of downhill and super-G. This is precisely where the Downhill World Cup could be today: the technology exists, it appears to work – but there are as yet no binding rules.

Many questions remain unanswered

According to information from the paddock, the systems currently used or being developed in gravity sports are primarily supplied by Dainese, Alpinestars and DHaRCO. There is no official information on how many riders are actually competing with airbags, exactly which models are being used, or how far development has progressed. Nor has the UCI made any statements as yet as to whether the issue will be addressed through regulations in future. Insiders are rumouring, however, that the two most recent and very high-profile cases – Pierron and Williams – may well have sparked a trend so close to the summer break. After all, the topic has rarely been so much in the spotlight. And who knows: perhaps more riders will jump on the bandwagon by the next World Cup in Andorra after the summer break.

For Holger Meyer, who travels to the Junior World Cups with his son Lois Eller and sees these developments at first hand, this is certainly the right direction to take: "It’s great to see that it’s not just the bikes that are constantly evolving, but that things are also happening in the area of safety." He considers it entirely realistic that airbag vests will one day become as commonplace as full-face helmets or back protectors: "I could well imagine that the UCI will address this issue at some point and even make airbags compulsory in downhill racing."

It’s still a long way off. But judging by the images from La Thuile and Andorra, one thing is clear: airbags are no longer a distant prospect in the Downhill World Cup. The technology has made its way onto the course – the question now is whether the sport will follow suit.