'Parents shouldn’t fear their children not coming home from a race'

Parents should not be scared their children might not come back from a race following the death of Finlay Tarling, says the winner of stage one of the Tour of Britain Women.

Dutch cyclist Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx - Protime) sprinted to take the opening stage in Cockermouth.

Before the race began, there was a touching tribute to the British 19-year-old who died last week in a high-speed collision with a van, which had strayed on to the road during the eighth stage of the Volta a Portugal.

As the 114 riders lined up to set off on the first stage in Cockermouth, a photograph of Tarling was projected on to a large screen and a minute's applause rang out around the packed centre of the market town.

After her win, Wiebes said: "Most of these riders have family at home. Your parents shouldn't be scared that you are not coming back from a race.

“It cannot happen again, and it's happened already too many times," the 27-year-old added.

Safety has been on the minds of every rider since the teenager's death stunned the cycling community.

The Tour of Britain is a smaller event in the cycling calendar - similar to the Volta a Portugal. But they both use 'rolling roadblocks', where police and officials travel in front of and behind the peloton.

However, several roads were completely closed off in the Cockermouth town centre.

British rider Hayley Simmonds, holder of three British time trial records, has been vocal about safety for cyclists, particularly after she was involved in the abandonment of the Tour of the Pyrenees in 2023.

At the time, riders complained roads were not closed to traffic for the three-day race in south-west France.

Several teams pulled out before governing body the UCI officially cancelled the race with the unhappy organisers describing the women as "spoiled children".

"Our response at the time was, 'No, we just expect to be safe'," Simmonds said.

Recalling the event in 2023, the DAS Hutchinson rider said: "We were riding along a road and suddenly there was a car moving towards us in the opposite direction, coming towards you.