The death that has shocked cycling and opens the debate on safety

BarcelonaThe Tour of Spain cycling race kicked off this Saturday with a time trial in Monaco. The riders from all teams, including the big favorite Tadej Pogacar (UAE), wanted to show their affection for the Briton Josh Tarling (Netcompany Ineos), who has decided to participate in the race despite the death of his younger brother Finlay, last Friday at the Tour of Portugal. Ineos had given Josh permission not to participate in the race as planned, but after Finlay's funeral, the older brother decided to be at the race that will end in Granada on September 13.

Geraint Thomas, the team director, explained that Josh will have psychological support throughout the Tour. "He wants to get back to his routine. He's a tough guy; he traveled to Portugal, then to Wales. But at all times he maintained the desire to race the Tour. It wasn't a decision taken lightly, by him or by the team. But he always made it clear that he wanted to be with us," he explained.

Finlay Tarling, a rider for the feeder team of NSN, the Barcelona-based team where Andrés Iniesta is one of the investors, died during the eighth stage of the Tour of Portugal after being hit by a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction within the race route. A death that has caused a great impact within professional cycling and has reopened debates about safety in races. Tarling had fallen behind the main group in that tragic stage and in a downhill section, and was traveling at high speed to make up time when he encountered a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction. The impact was terrible. Initially, the driver was blamed, but investigations by the Portuguese police, which are still ongoing, indicate that he was waiting for traffic to reopen, when he asked the marshals if he could pass. And they, who had seen many cyclists pass, assumed that they had all passed.

The Association of Professional Cyclists (CPA) published a statement in which they affirmed "being speechless and full of rage. It is not fair that the life of a young athlete ends like this and we are furious that it is still not possible to avoid such serious accidents". "When the breakaway or the main group passes, sometimes drivers think that this is the entire race. But in reality there are riders behind and in some stages the difference can be 45 minutes," explained Adam Hansen, president of the CPA, in statements to BBC Sport. The riders have long been demanding improved safety, as it is not the first time that a dropped cyclist has been hit by a vehicle entering the course when at an intersection someone believes that all the riders have already passed, as happened to Max Schachmann at the 2020 Giro di Lombardia. With long stages in urban areas, closing off dozens and dozens of paths and roads is a real challenge and often mistakes occur like the one that caused Finlay's death. The CPA also calls for improving helmets, as the speed of the riders continues to grow, which causes impacts to be stronger.