NSN Development team withdraws from Volta a Portugal after death of 19-year-old rider Finlay Tarling
The NSN Development team has withdrawn from the Volta a Portugal, one day after 19-year-old British rider Finlay Tarling died in an accident during the race's eighth stage.
Tarling was fatally injured on Friday, 14 August, during stage eight of the Volta a Portugal — the country's biggest professional stage race. He was reportedly involved in a head-on collision with a vehicle travelling in the opposite direction, a vehicle unconnected with the race itself. A spokesperson for Portugal's national republican guard said there had been a collision between a cyclist and a light vehicle towards the back of the peloton — the main pack of riders — and that the circumstances would be investigated The Guardian.
Friday's stage was suspended with roughly 20 kilometres remaining. The podium ceremony was cancelled.
NSN confirmed the withdrawal in a statement on its official Facebook page on Saturday, 15 August NSN Development Team. The team said the decision covered all remaining stages of the race.
Finlay Tarling was the younger brother of Josh Tarling, who rides for the Netcompany–Ineos professional team at WorldTour level — cycling's top tier of competition.
Race organisers said the Volta a Portugal would resume on Saturday in an atmosphere of profound mourning, with a moment of tribute to be held before the start The Guardian.
While the development squad stepped away from the race in Portugal, NSN's WorldTour team will continue racing. The team said this decision was made with the full support of Tarling's parents, and that riders will compete at the Czech Tour and the Arctic Race of Norway.
A 19-year-old at the start of his career, riding for a development team designed to bring young talents toward the professional ranks. A race neutralised, a team grieving, a family that includes one of Britain's brightest professional cyclists. The sport of cycling has lost riders before to collisions on open roads during competition, and each time the conversation about rider safety on courses that mix professional racing with live traffic returns with painful urgency.
The investigation by Portuguese authorities is ongoing.
