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<\/a>, with the professional riders\u2019 union \u201cspeechless and filled with anger\u201d at his death as it called for a serious overhaul of racing safety measures.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n The Volta a Portugal, like many races below the level of grand tours including the Tour de France<\/a>, 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. <\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n Catanario said the police escort \u201ccould not keep up\u201d with Tarling and that there was no security presence preventing the non-race vehicle driver from accessing the course \u201cbecause it was not one of the locations prioritised in the assessment that had been carried out\u201d.<\/p>\n The incident is now subject to a police investigation, but Portuguese media have reported that the driver is unlikely to face charges. <\/p>\n Tarling\u2019s death has led to calls for greater safety measures to be put in place to keep riders safe. The riders\u2019 union, the Cyclistes Professionnels Associ\u00e9s (CPA), said: \u201cWe are speechless and filled with anger after the news of Finlay Tarling\u2019s death at the Tour of Portugal. It is not right that a young athlete\u2019s life should end this way, and we are furious that even today it is still not possible to prevent such serious accidents.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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\u2019Aosta last year. <\/p>\n![\"Finlay](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2037992173...jpeg\")
Finlay Tarling (second left) rode for the Great Britain Cycling Team and NSN Development (Getty)<\/p>\n
![\"Tarling](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/RVFgiZi5jILEZXGhpEHuCk_ticjaIq-SqC6pxP-vcqXPRvcX-hV9qC_vP0lM3LQA-SKr19I1vmVIdw2bWspTm-NGYglZ7iGz992C.jpeg\")
Tarling won gold in the team pursuit at the British national championships in 2024 and was a talented time triallist (PA Archive)<\/p>\n