A fundraising campaign in memory of Finlay Tarling has raised over £50,000 following the tragic death of the young cyclist.
Tarling, 19, younger brother of British world champion cyclist Josh, was competing for NSN Development Team in the Volta a Portugal when he was killed in a collision with a van during the eighth stage of the event last week. The vehicle was mistakenly waved onto the course by bystanders, who thought all the cyclists in the race had already gone past them.
Investigation and race decision
The driver is not expected to face criminal charges at this stage, but an investigation is continuing, with police revealing full details of the crash during a TV appearance. The race was halted on the day of the accident but restarted the next day – a decision that had the blessing of the Tarling family, though the Welsh cyclist’s team announced beforehand they would be withdrawing.
Fundraising and legacy project
An official fundraising page, via GoFundMe, has now been created by a friend of the family, with Tarling’s parents authorising the idea. The total is currently over £50,000, with people from all over the world sending donations in honour of Tarling, who was from Ffos-y-ffin near Aberaeron.
The money donated is set to be given back into the cycling community, with a legacy project put in place to provide help for future generations of young Welsh riders.
Family tribute
The fundraiser described the 19-year-old as “an exceptionally talented cyclist with a bright future ahead of him, as well as a beloved son, brother, grandson, loyal friend and teammate, and an outstanding young man in every respect”. It continued: “Fin’s happy place was on his bike — whether on the track, at a local club 10, on the West Wales home roads, or racing internationally. We hope it can also bring some small measure of comfort and peace to Dawn, Michael and Josh, as well as to his extended family and loved ones.”
Tarling’s heartbroken family released a statement on Sunday following his death, describing this as “the hardest days of our lives”. His father, Michael, said: “One of the things that has helped carry us through is the wave of posts, messages, emails, articles and calls from across our family, friends, team, local and sporting communities. Hearing how lovingly and fondly Fin was thought of has been a huge help to us. We simply can’t thank you all enough for the support we’ve had. I don’t know how we carry on from here but we’ll figure out with the support of all of our family, friends and community. Whilst our broken hearts will never be fixed, he was not only our son and brother but our best mate. Gentle, loving with the driest sense of humour we will miss him terribly. Whilst he was only 19 his short life was packed full of wonderful experiences and achievements and we couldn’t be prouder of him. If you’re heading out on your bike in the next few days give him a thought as you clip in. We will of course share funeral details as soon as we know.”
