The professional cycling community has reacted with fury to the death of the teenage Welsh rider, Finlay Tarling, in the Volta a Portugal, with a leading former professional describing the race’s safety measures as “catastrophic”. Tarling, the younger brother of the Netcompany Ineos professional Josh Tarling, was in collision with a non-race vehicle driving towards the peloton while he competed in the Portuguese race’s eighth stage. The 19-year-old’s death on Friday has led to a surge of anger, with the riders’ union, the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA), describing itself as “furious”.
Pineau, who rode multiple Grand Tours between 2002 and 2015, described the lack of other incidents in the race as “a constant miracle” and added that “the finishes are not worthy of a race of this level”. The circumstances of Tarling’s death are now subject to a police investigation, but the Portuguese police stated that while “more evidence will be gathered,” it is thought unlikely that the driver will face criminal charges. The Volta a Portugal does not benefit from full road closures, as is the case with Grand Tours such as the Tour de France, and instead uses a rolling road closure, effectively a “bubble” of security that encloses the race convoy, from front to back.
Carlos Catanario, of the Portugese police, told RTP that Tarling was racing to catch up on a downhill section, with the peloton ahead of him and split into three groups. The “broom” wagon, the van signifying the rear of the convoy and the end of the rolling road closure, was behind him. Catanario said that the GNR (National Republican Guard) police escort “could not keep up with Tarling”.
Further ahead, the driver involved had been stopped at the roadside for some time, to allow the race to pass. After waiting, the driver is understood to have asked bystanders if he could join the road, and then drove on to the course, before the broom wagon had passed. The cyclist [Tarling] cut across the curve on the left lane – as is natural, as [racing] cyclists do – and that is what caused the cyclist and the vehicle to collide.” Tarling’s loss is the latest in a sport increasingly beleaguered by safety issues.
As racing speeds increase and traffic intensifies, costs for event security rise, meaning race organisers are coming under increasing pressure to implement more effective measures. Riders observed a minute’s silence at the start of the ninth stage, the leader’s jersey worn by Alexis Guérin was changed from yellow to black and the peloton wore black armbands. Tributes were paid and black armbands worn at other races including the Czech Tour and the Arctic Race of Norway.
On Sunday Tarling’s father, Michael, posted a message on social media. Hearing how lovingly and fondly Fin was thought of has been a huge help to us. We simply can’t thank you all enough for the support we’ve had.
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