British cyclist Matthew Brennan has called for the creation of an independent safety body in cycling, saying it is “disgraceful” that “nothing has changed” following the death of Finlay Tarling.
Nineteen-year-old Tarling died on 14 August after he collided with a non-race vehicle driver that had entered the race course at the Volta a Portugal.
In an interview with BBC Sport published after Brennan won five stages of the Vuelta a España, the Visma-Lease a Bike rider said it was “unbelievable” and “shocking” that bigger measures hadn’t been introduced to road racing.
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“It was very sad what happened with Fin. We were watching his funeral yesterday and I said to my friend, ‘It’s so sad we’ve lost someone so special and also nothing has changed’,” Brennan said.
“I really think that is disgraceful. Instead of someone somewhere in these organisations saying, ‘OK, this should never ever happen again’, it feels the world has moved on, nothing has changed and there’s events where cars have been on the course still.”
Less than three weeks after Tarling’s death, a rider had to swerve to avoid a public car on the barriered individual time trial course at the Sauerlandrundfahrt stage race in Germany.
“In my personal opinion, there should be an independent organisation that holds the organisations, the UCI and everything accountable to some very strict rules that makes sure the safety of the riders is held as a priority,” Brennan told BBC Sport.
In 2023, the UCI announced the creation of a safety body called ‘SafeR’, which is funded by the governing body, race organisers, riders and teams. The body has been responsible for recommending safety measures including the yellow card system, handlebar width restrictions and rider airbags.
Earlier this month, and in light of Tarling’s death, the UCI called for safety tracking systems to be put in place across all professional road races “as quickly as possible”.
Finlay Tarling joined NSN Cycling’s development team, then called Israel Premier Tech Academy, in 2025.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Tarling’s funeral took place last Thursday in Aberystwyth, Wales.
The teenager’s team, NSN Cycling, announced today that it has created an annual scholarship in the Welshman’s name, the Finlay Tarling Talent Development Scholarship, through which it will support one young Welsh cyclist every year for at least the next five years.
The scholarship comes in addition to a GoFundMe page set up by Tarling’s agent, Jamie Barlow, which has already surpassed £100,000 in donations. The funds will go towards helping future generations of Welsh cyclists.
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