The cycling community has rallied around the family of 19-year-old Finlay Tarling, who was killed in a collision at the Volta a Portugal, with the professional riders’ union “speechless and filled with anger” at his death as it called for a serious overhaul of racing safety measures.
The Welsh teenager was hit by a non-race vehicle on stage eight of the race last Friday and died shortly after the crash. The vehicle, which was driving the opposite way to the riders, was not prevented from getting onto the course despite the race having not entirely passed that section of road.
The Volta a Portugal, like many races below the level of grand tours including the Tour de France, does not fully close the roads for each stage but uses a rolling roadblock designed to protect the race convoy as it travels. Police and race organisation vehicles enforce temporary closures of certain sections until everyone involved in the race has passed through, before moving to the next section.
Carlos Catanario, of the National Republican Guard (GNR), told RTP that Tarling was off the back of the peloton and riding downhill to catch up, with the broom wagon - the final vehicle in the race convoy - behind him. Catanario said the driver involved in the collision had been waiting at the roadside for the race to pass and asked bystanders whether he could drive onto the road, then did so before the broom wagon had gone past, signifying the end of the rolling roadblock.
Catanario said the police escort “could not keep up” with Tarling and that there was no security presence preventing the non-race vehicle driver from accessing the course “because it was not one of the locations prioritised in the assessment that had been carried out”.
The incident is now subject to a police investigation, but Portuguese media have reported that the driver is unlikely to face charges.
Tarling’s death has led to calls for greater safety measures to be put in place to keep riders safe. The riders’ union, the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA), said: “We are speechless and filled with anger after the news of Finlay Tarling’s death at the Tour of Portugal. It is not right that a young athlete’s life should end this way, and we are furious that even today it is still not possible to prevent such serious accidents.”
There has been a spate of deaths during bike races over the last few years. Swiss rider Gino Mader died aged 26 as a result of serious injuries sustained in a high-speed crash on a treacherous descent at his home race, the Tour de Suisse, in 2023. His compatriot, 18-year-old Muriel Furrer, died of traumatic brain injuries after crashing during the junior road race at the UCI World Championships - one of the sport’s most high-profile races - in Zurich the following year. She was not seen leaving the road and was not found for more than an hour. 19-year-old Italian cyclist Samuele Privitera died after crashing on a descent on the opening stage of the Giro della Valle d’Aosta last year.
Other riders have been lucky to avoid serious injury: American rider and 2023 Vuelta a Espana champion Sepp Kuss was caught by netting after crashing into a wall on a frightening mountain descent on stage 20 of this year’s Tour de France, which saved him from tipping over the edge and falling down the sheer side of the mountain.
The sport’s governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), has faced calls to implement stricter safety measures in response to what is widely felt to be an increasingly high-risk sport, with average speeds going up and racing increasingly conducted at ‘full gas’ pace from the start of every stage. This year’s Tour de France was the fastest on record, eclipsing the record set just 12 months prior. Additionally, the cost of race security has risen in recent years and race organisers are coming under increasing pressure after a series of high-profile incidents involving course security being breached.
The last stage of the Tour Feminin International des Pyrenees was cancelled in 2023 after a series of near-misses involving riders and non-race vehicles driving on roads which were not closed to the public, with CPA president Adam Hansen saying the rolling roadblock was “not up to standard”. Several teams quit the men’s Etoile de Besseges race last year in protest at traffic entering the course and endangering riders.
Hansen has also called for changes to cycling helmets as a result of the increased speed of road racing. He told BBC Sport: “They need a major upgrade. Bike helmets only need to meet standard testing like all helmets. EU standard CE EN 1078 is only rated for 19.5km/h and I do not believe this is enough for road racing.”
The end of stage eight of the Volta a Portugal was neutralised and there was no stage winner as a result of Tarling’s death, while his team, NSN Development, withdrew from the race.
Many riders wore black armbands for the remainder of the race, while a minute’s silence was observed before the start of the ninth stage. Race leader Alexis Guerin wore a black jersey rather than the traditional leader’s yellow and Portuguese rider Rui Oliveira dedicated his win on stage 10, the final day of the race, to Tarling and his family, saying: “First I want to give my condolences to Fin's family, friends, team - everyone. It's been a rough couple of days. I can imagine what they're suffering.
“I said yesterday that I wanted to win for everyone that's supporting, but most of all for Fin's family and his team-mates. This one is for them."