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Paul Seixas has called for better race-organisation standards after 19-year-old Finlay Tarling died when he collided with a non-race vehicle on the Volta a Portugal course on August 14. A police investigation is ongoing, and riders and officials have raised concerns about vehicles entering race routes despite existing safety initiatives.
Paul Seixas has called for better race-organisation standards after the death of 19-year-old Finlay Tarling, who collided with a non-race vehicle on the Volta a Portugal course on August 14. Speaking to Canal+’s “Clique” this week, the Decathlon CMA CGM rider said cyclists being hit by cars during races “shouldn’t happen”; a police investigation is ongoing.
Seixas said he had raced with Tarling and that the death had affected him and other riders. He described the incident as “extremely serious,” pointing to the harm to families and the fear created when riders die in professional races. He also said organisers do their best, but that race standards sometimes need to improve.
Seixas’s remarks follow safety concerns raised publicly by riders. Ahead of Il Lombardia, he joined a five-minute safety protest. Riders including Tom Pidcock and Ben Healy also shared a statement calling on the UCI and race organisers to “take accountability and act” against cars entering race courses.
Incidents involving vehicles on race routes have continued since Tarling’s death, according to Cycling Weekly’s report. Examples cited include a rider avoiding a car during a time trial at the Sauerlandrundfahrt, a delivery van entering the route at Coppa Bernocchi and an SUV on the course at the Eneco Tour, four days after the Il Lombardia protest.
Riders Demand Safer Race Routes
Tarling’s death has sharpened questions about how races protect competitors on roads that remain accessible to other traffic. The incidents reported after his death suggest that the risk is not limited to one event, while riders’ comments show growing pressure for organisers and cycling authorities to explain what safeguards are in place and how they are enforced.
There is also a practical challenge behind the calls for change. Races can cover hundreds of kilometres and pass through numerous side roads, making it difficult to prevent every vehicle from reaching the course. That difficulty does not resolve the questions raised by the fatal collision: what precautions were taken, how the vehicle entered the route and whether existing systems can reduce the risk.
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Safety Measures Under Scrutiny
The UCI established SafeR in 2023 as a cycling safety body. The organisation describes itself as independent, although it receives funding from the UCI, race organisers, riders and teams. In September, the UCI called for safety-tracking systems to be introduced across professional road races “as quickly as possible.” The source report does not specify a deadline or say that the systems have been implemented across all races.
British rider Matthew Brennan separately called for an independent safety body after Tarling’s death, telling BBC Sport that it was “disgraceful” that “nothing has changed.” Organisers have also described the difficulties of securing long public-road routes. Kiko García, technical director of the Vuelta a España and managing director of the International Association of Cycling Race Organisers, told Cycling Weekly that a 200-kilometre race can have more than 300, 400 or 500 small roads branching off the route, depending on the region.
““Take accountability and act””
— Riders including Tom Pidcock and Ben Healy, in a joint social-media statement
Investigation and Safety Details
The source report says police are investigating Tarling’s death, but does not give findings, identify the driver or explain how the non-race vehicle entered the course. It also does not detail the safety arrangements in place at the time of the collision. Those points remain unconfirmed in the material available here.
It is also unclear when or how widely the UCI’s proposed safety-tracking systems will be introduced, what form they will take, or whether they will address the access points and traffic-control problems described by organisers. The reported later vehicle incidents do not, on their own, establish whether any single safety measure failed or how responsibility was determined.
Police and UCI Follow-Up
The immediate next development is the outcome of the ongoing police investigation into Tarling’s death. Its findings may clarify the circumstances of the collision, although the source report gives no timetable for a conclusion.
The UCI has called for professional races to adopt safety-tracking systems as quickly as possible, but no implementation schedule is provided. Riders’ calls for accountability and Seixas’s demand for better standards put added attention on what the governing body and race organisers do next. No specific new measure or deadline was announced in Seixas’s Canal+ interview.
Key Questions
Who was Finlay Tarling?
Finlay Tarling was a 19-year-old cyclist who died on August 14 after colliding with a non-race vehicle on the Volta a Portugal course.
What did Paul Seixas call for?
Seixas called for better standards in race organisation and said a rider dying after colliding with a car during a race “shouldn’t happen.”
Has the cause of Tarling’s collision been established?
The source report says a police investigation is ongoing. It does not provide findings or explain how the vehicle entered the course.
What safety measures has the UCI announced?
The UCI established SafeR in 2023 and called in September for safety-tracking systems across professional road races “as quickly as possible.” The report gives no rollout timetable.
Source: cyclingweekly.com
