Finlay Tarling killed in Volta a Portugal

[wbm5]

The family were at the nationals supporting Josh a few years ago. I've been thinking about them since I saw the horrible news. It's so sad.

 

[mididoctors]

It's a really dangerous sport. Shouldn't of happened

 

[Domus]

The women’s peloton had problems a couple of years ago with cars on the course and cancelled the race in Portugal. The organisers said they should just get on with it.

 

[ivegotabike]

It happens. Marshals can only cover so many junctions and drivers can appear out of private drives / elsewhere / just ignore marshals.

We had speeding motorbikes getting into the race convoy at the weekend despite the best efforts of the vehicles at the rear. Fortunately there were no collisions but it was a bit too close for comfort.

The Volta rolling road closures are managed by the Public Security Police and the Republican National Guard. This isn't a few volunteer marshalls in their own car with an orange beacon on top. The expectations of the riders / race traffic regarding the effectiveness of the road closure is high.

The protocols for such things were supposedly enhanced after the Tour Feminin des Pyrenees in 2023 - where the riders went on strike during the race due to safety concerns, and the UCI eventually cancelled the last stage when most of the teams refused to ride.

 

[rich p]

Beyond words. So sad.
We're all vulnerable on busy roads even in our minor way but these pros put their health and safety on the line day, day out.

 

[CarbonClem]

Just saw the clip where Jez Cox had to read the official statement. That was tough.

 

[No Ta Doctor]

Ned Boulting has written very well on this - no paywall
https://nedboulting.substack.com/p/a-death-in-a-race?r=1vylcg&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

 

[katiewlx]

The women’s peloton had problems a couple of years ago with cars on the course and cancelled the race in Portugal. The organisers said they should just get on with it.

the Tour de Feminin Pyrenees was the worst Ive seen for that, they women were racing in and among traffic because the organisers hadnt closed the roads properly, the riders staged a strike on the next stage and eventually the race was abandoned completely as teams just pulled out for safety, and there was alot of "just get on with it" attitude I remember from the race organisers. but dont think that race has been run since.

 

[ivegotabike]

Understandably, NSN team has withdrawn from the rest of the race.

 

[Animo]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/articles/czxqqlpnx98o
The poor lad gets hit by a vehicle during a pro race and the issue is inadequate helmets??

 

[mjr]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/articles/czxqqlpnx98o
The poor lad gets hit by a vehicle during a pro race and the issue is inadequate helmets??

Yes, I remember Chris Boardman reminding some interviewer that there isn't any practical helmet possible that can absorb the impact energy of a motor vehicle.

I notice that the Cyclist Professional Association president Adam Hansen blethering on about helmets is from Australia, where they have an especially strong misguided belief about helmets and terrible road casualty rates.

Let's hope the investigators focus on the dodgy driving and how it was able to reach the race, not blame the rider or team equipment.

RIP Finlay.

 

[MadMalx]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/articles/czxqqlpnx98o
The poor lad gets hit by a vehicle during a pro race and the issue is inadequate helmets??

That was exacty my feeling reading that article.

 

[katiewlx]

That was exacty my feeling reading that article.

they even chucked "lycra-clad" in there too as a pejorative 😲

I know unions tend to grab the wrong end of the stick most of the time, but not sure why he thinks helmets are the issue to focus on, or why "anger" is particularly the key emotion to draw attention to at this stage.

 

[No Ta Doctor]

they even chucked "lycra-clad" in there too as a pejorative 😲

I know unions tend to grab the wrong end of the stick most of the time, but not sure why he thinks helmets are the issue to focus on, or why "anger" is particularly the key emotion to draw attention to at this stage.

I know he's got a difficult job, but I genuinely don't think he's doing it all that well. He often seems to be a "shoot from the hip" kind of guy and I assume the inadequate helmet design regs was what he just happened to have loaded at the time, irrelevant as they may be in this case (though fair enough, we all know current helmets are about as useful as a Christmas cracker crown when things go pear-shaped). I seem to remember him going on a thirty tweet rant a couple of years ago when he'd been mildly criticised for something in a way he considered grossly unfair. I think it did his reputation more damage than the original criticism, whatever that was.

 

[Pross]

For those who haven’t seen it there’s a Go Fund Me page in Fin’s name with funds going to support future generations of Welsh riders (I saw the link on his dad’s FB page so all above board) https://www.gofundme.com/f/for-fin-s2u87