British cyclist Finlay Tarling has died, aged 19, following a crash during the eighth stage of the Volta a Portugal on Friday, the race’s organisers have confirmed.
Tarling, the younger brother of Netcompany Ineos rider Josh, was racing for NSN Development Team when he was involved in a crash during the 167km stage to Fafe. Following the tragic incident, the stage was neutralised.
Initial reports from Portugal suggest that the incident may have been caused by a member of the public driving on the course, though these reports have not yet been confirmed by the race organisers or the Portuguese Cycling Federation.
According to Portuguese newspaper Record, a spokesperson for the National Republican Guard stated that the fatal collision involved a “light vehicle”, which the newspaper reports was travelling in the opposite direction to the race. The crash is being investigated by police.
“We regret to inform you of the accident and extend our condolences,” Major Tiago Machado said. “We emphasise that we always prioritise maximum safety for cyclists, with a mobile and static safety device deployed throughout the entire stage to prevent accidents.
“The circumstances of the accident will be investigated, and a resolution will be communicated when available. The accident occurred further back in the stage, and efforts will be made to investigate. There was a collision between the cyclist and a light vehicle. We are currently investigating.”
Correio da Manhã has reported that the crash was allegedly caused by a motorist, a member of the public, who made a U-turn on the course and collided head-on with Tarling, though this is yet to be confirmed by police.
“The organisers of the 87th Volta a Portugal em Bicicleta Jogos Santa Casa deeply regret to announce the death of British rider Finlay Tarling, of the NSN Development Team, following a serious accident during Stage 8 of the race, between Melgaço and Fafe,” the organisers of the stage race said in a statement on Friday evening.
“At this time of profound sorrow, the organisers of the Volta a Portugal and the Portuguese Cycling Federation extend their deepest condolences to Finlay Tarling’s family, his teammates, the NSN Development Team, and all his friends and loved ones.
“In light of this tragic event, the race will be neutralised until the finish in Fafe, and, as a mark of respect and mourning, the podium ceremony scheduled for today will not take place. The organisers will provide further information as soon as circumstances allow.”
The Welsh teenager’s NSN team, who he joined last year, have released the following statement: “We are heartbroken to announce the passing of Finlay Tarling at the Volta a Portugal today.
“Fin was a much loved member of our team but most importantly, he was a son, a brother, and a friend to so many. He will be deeply missed.
“Our deepest condolences go out to Fin’s parents Michael and Dawn, his brother Josh, and everyone who was lucky enough to call Fin a friend.”
Like his brother Josh, Finlay was a promising young time triallist, and finished third at the U23 British time trial championships in June. Riding for NSN, he impressed at February’s Tour of Rwanda, finishing second and fourth on two stages.
Last year, Tarling made his debut for NSN’s elite team (then Israel-Premier Tech) at the Tour of Britain, where he finished 68th overall and made it into the breakaway on stage five to the Tumble, won by Remco Evenepoel.
From everyone at road.cc, our heartfelt condolences go out to the Tarling family at this terrible time.
14 thoughts on “Teenage British cyclist Finlay Tarling killed in crash involving driver at Volta a Portugal”
Deepest sympathies to the Tarling family for this tragic loss.
Oh soo sad!
Absolutely tragic. Bike racing should not be fatal.
I agree that all steps should be taken to avoid death or serious injury in sport. However, things can go wrong. Neck injuries in rugby, cardiac arrest in football, high speed crashes on descents in cycling etc.
I don’t know whether this was a case of a driver disobeying instructions and barriers etc, or something in the stage organisation got missed ; after all, ensuring that a longish cycling stage remains traffic free must be an absolute logistical nightmare.
The main thing to take away is that whenever a tragic death etc occurs, it always leads to improvements in organisation, equipment etc to reduce the chances of a repeat. Examples are Casartelli’s death in the TDF in 1995 playing a part in making cycling helmets mandatory, collisions and injuries caused by vehicles pulling out in front of amateur time triallers led to the making front lights compulsory in recent years.
I do hope that any failings identified in this case will be acted on so that Tarling’s tragic death was not a total waste of a young life.
This is beyond sad. Condolences to all who knew him.
JUST Awful. Rest in Peace.
JUST Awful. Rest in Peace
First and foremost, extraordinarily tragic, and deepest sympathies to all impacted.
But I was very disappointed with UCI statement.
“The UCI is deeply saddened by the tragic death of British rider Finlay Tarling, who passed away following a serious accident during today’s 8th stage of the Volta a Portugal.”
If even the UCI can’t manage to refrain from use of the word “accident” before a fatal collision investigation has concluded, what hope is there?
@Velo-drone I hold no brief for the UCI, but I believe their statement came out before the news broke that Finlay was hit by a driver. They presumably were guided by the race organisation’s initial statement which also described his death as “a serious accident” with no mention of a car being involved and so had no reason to think it was anything but a racing incident (or accident).
RIP.
According to the president of the Cyclistes Professionnels Associes the first thing they need to look at is … helmets?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/articles/czxqqlpnx98o
Of course this could make perfect sense for a professional sport, perhaps standards haven’t kept pace etc. It’s certainly a rarefied extremely fast and hazard-rich environment, compared with my experience of normally <20mph utility-and-leisure cycling.
But since the main factor seems to have been an uninvolved vehicle on the course this does sound like a convergence with the standard "cycling safety" narrative? ("Can't fix anything else, so what we *can* do is…")
@chrisonabike I was just reading that myself, it seems a bizarre kneejerk reaction before poor Finlay’s cause of death has even been fully investigated. What does Mr.Hansen think has been going on, have the manufacturers had the means to make safer, more robust helmets that are just as light and well ventilated but haven’t bothered releasing them? Or does he want the peleton racing in motorcycle helmets, because that’s the only way there’s going to be a chance of meaningful protection in 100 kmh crashes?
I’m not sure it’s a knee jerk reaction from Adam Hansen’s point. I think it’s more the media, as per usual, having a full statement in front of them about everything that was wrong with the tragic incident on Friday, and running with the headline that will get the most attention and clicks. No doubt this very publication will be the same come Monday.
My sincere condolences to Finlay’s family and friends.
@chrisonabike Remember that Adam Hansen did not write the article, very likely has little say in which parts of his statement are put into that article, where they are put in the article, how they are framed in the article, indeed, we do not know the full transcript of Adam Hansen’s statement, what questions he was asked, whether the information about helmets was late in the statement, an afterthought, etc. In any case, it seems unlikely he asked the BBC reporter to use that title.
Tragic news, my condolences to his family, friends and team.