Finlay Tarling, a 19-year-old Welsh cyclist, died on Friday afternoon, 14 August during the eighth stage of the Volta a Portugal in Ponte de Lima, in Northern Portugal, after colliding with a goods van travelling in the opposite direction to the race. The race was subsequently suspended.
Tarling was making his debut in the Volta a Portugal with NSN Development cycling team, and was following in the footsteps of his older brother, 22-year-old Joshua, a Netcompany Ineos rider and European time-trial champion, as well as a world bronze medallist, two-time British champion, and stage winner at the Giro d’Italia.
The young rider had been building his career since joining what was then Israel’s under-23 team last season. In the Volta a Portugal, he had finished 11th in the prologue and 15th in the Águeda time trial, underlining his potential. This season, he took third place in the British junior time-trial championships and finished second on a stage of the Tour du Rwanda, the biggest race he had contested before coming to Portugal.
The son of Michael Tarling, a passionate cycling fan, Finlay’s death led to the cancellation of the eighth stage of the Volta a Portugal. The peloton was ordered to travel slowly to the nearby town of Fafe, with the NSN riders leading the procession.
The cyclist collided with a goods van travelling in the opposite direction on the EN306, Carlos Lima, commander of the Ponte de Lima Volunteer Fire Brigade, confirmed to journalists. “The vehicle was travelling on the Ponte de Lima–Paredes de Coura route, while the race was travelling in the opposite direction, from Paredes de Coura to Ponte de Lima,” the commander said, adding that the road had been “restricted” for the passage of the race.
Tarling “died instantly”. He was initially treated by the medical team assigned to the race and subsequently by the Alto Minho emergency medical and resuscitation team (VMER), however, medical staff pronounced him dead at the scene.
“The organisation of the 87th Volta a Portugal em Bicicleta Jogos Santa Casa deeply regrets having to announce the death of British rider Finlay Tarling of the NSN Development Team, following a serious accident during the eighth stage of the race, between Melgaço and Fafe,” the Volta a Portugal organisers said in a statement issued to the press, extending their condolences to the cyclist’s family, friends and teammates.
“In view of this tragic event, the race will be neutralised until the arrival in Fafe and, as a mark of respect and mourning, the podium ceremony scheduled for today will not take place,” the statement added.
As the procession of cyclists arrived in Fafe they received applause from thousands of spectators who had remained along the cobbled finishing stretch, with the Swiss NSN team leading the procession into the town amid scenes of profound grief. José Soares, vice-president of the Portuguese Cycling Federation, said that “all decisions [about the future of the race] will now be taken carefully”.
“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,” the rider’s team said in a public statement posted on Instagram.
Portugal’s President, António José Seguro, expressed his profound sorrow at Tarling’s death. “Finlay Tarling left us on the road, devoted to the sport he loved and honoured, and his death causes mourning for the peloton, the race and the country that welcomed him,” a statement published on the Presidency’s website said.
The President also “expressed his solidarity with the Volta a Portugal organisation and the Portuguese Cycling Federation, who are facing one of the most painful moments in the history of the race, and praised the dignity of the decisions taken in memory and out of respect for the athlete”.
Prime Minister Luís Montenegro also expressed his condolences over the death of the young rider, conveying the Government’s “deepest sympathies” to Tarling’s family, team and the entire Volta a Portugal peloton.
Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Margarida Balseiro Lopes also expressed “her deepest sorrow” over Tarling’s death. “To his family, friends, teammates and the Portuguese Cycling Federation, our deepest condolences,” the minister said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Source: LUSA
Photo credit: JN
