Anna Morris will keep Finlay Tarling in her thoughts when she clips in to race the Lloyds Tour of Britain this week, after riders took part in a tribute to the Welsh rider ahead of stage one. Tarling died following an incident at the Volta a Portugal last week with riders taking part in a minute's applause ahead of the Tour's start in Cockermouth in his memory.
Tribute to a young Welsh rider
At just 19 years old, the Welsh rider from Ceredigion represented a highly respected figure in the sport, with his brother Josh, 22, competing for Great Britain. “We had some really sad news with Fin last week. That's really hit the cycling world hard, at Welsh, British and world level because the Tarling's are a huge presence in cycling,” said Morris.
“I'll definitely be riding with lots of thoughts in my head this week. The Tarling family have said Fin loved riding and racing his bike so when we clip in this week, we will definitely have him in our thoughts.”
Morris enters on strong form
Morris enters the Lloyds Tour of Britain off the back of a Commonwealth Games that saw her bag three medals, including two golds in the individual pursuit and points race. The 31-year-old was part of a Welsh cycling contingent who showed their strength on the track at Glasgow 2026, finishing second in the medal table in the velodrome with six golds in total, only behind Australia.
Having won the North Yorkshire Grand Prix on her return to the road, Morris is among those billed to continue to show that Welsh strength on home roads. “It's amazing seeing the strength and depth we have in Wales. It's super exciting to have a couple of stages in Wales,” said the Cardiff-born rider.
“We've had national road championships for the past two years and we've got it again next year and then some of the Tour de France going through Wales as well next year. So, Welsh cycling is in a really good place at the moment. We've got some strong Welsh riders racing this week and I'm excited to see the likes of Zoe Bäckstedt and see what they can do.”
Home support for Welsh riders
Fresh from a debut Tour de France Femmes, Pontyclun's Bäckstedt enters the UCI Women's WorldTour event as one of the favourites and will benefit from home support through stages three and four with Great Orme and Llanidloes featuring as stops. “When you hear your name at the side of the road, it picks you up in the tough moments. We're racing over hours and hours so you go through a lot of different emotions and I'm excited to have that support beside the road,” explained Morris.
Carmarthen's Jess Roberts also hits the road for the Great Britain Cycling Team alongside Morris, having won silver and bronze at the Commonwealth Games. While she bids to maintain fitness for her endeavours on the track, she represents another to watch for Welsh crowds at the largest free-to-attend sporting spectacle in the UK.
“I'm so proud to be Welsh, it's just nice to showcase Wales,” said the 27-year-old. “We're quite a small country and there are going to be some hard stages there. We're all proud to be Welsh and showing that off is nice.”
