The death of the Welshman Fin Tarling continues to cast a long shadow over professional cycling and nowhere will that absence be felt more deeply than at the men’s Tour of Britain which begins on Wednesday.
Tarling’s former team NSN Cycling, which includes the Olympic medallist Ethan Vernon, also one of his closest friends, will be brought to the start line in Lincoln for the opening 187km stage, for what is expected to be a minute’s applause.
Tarling was killed while racing in the Volta a Portugal last month when he collided with a non‑race vehicle driving towards him. The race operates a rolling road closure, the same security strategy employed by the Tour of Britain. The police investigation into Tarling’s death is ongoing.
A spate of serious recent crashes, including the high-speed fall endured by the Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar, which forced him to abandon the Vuelta a España this year while leading the race, have yet again put safety at the top of the agenda.
Tom Pidcock’s tearful tribute to the Tarling family, when winning the World Mountain Bike title in Italy last weekend, revealed the depth of feeling over the teenager’s death.
The double Olympic gold medallist Pidcock, initially expected to start the British race, has opted to focus on preparing for the world championships in Canada by riding warm-up races in Montreal and Quebec.
Tarling’s collision in a race operating under a rolling road closure has been the subject of much scrutiny in the aftermath of his accident and the flaws of that system were highlighted just days later, in the women’s Tour of Britain, when the Australian rider Maeve Plouffe had her own near-miss.
“While the race convoy was still in sight, and I was less than two minutes down [behind], there were cars from the general public coming at me from all directions, including one that nearly hit me on a roundabout,” the 27-year-old said.
Jonathan Day, director of the race organisers, said: “Rider safety is paramount and will always be treated as a priority in our planning and how we operate any race.”
The race organisers maintain that the Tour of Britain is delivered in accordance with the UCI’s road racing regulations, described as the safety and operational standards that govern international and UK-based road racing.
Local authorities, emergency services, commissaires, police and event partners are all part of the race planning process. But the efficiency of rolling road closures has also been questioned by Adam Hansen, president of the CPA professional rider association, who said: “There is a hole in rolling road closures and we have to fix this.”
After an opening stage based on Lincoln, the convoy will travel through Yorkshire and on to the Scottish Borders. The second day’s racing takes the peloton from Boston to Skegness while stage three, through East Yorkshire, starts in Hull and ends in Beverley.
Over the weekend the convoy crosses the Yorkshire moors and dales, before the final stage on Sunday, which starts south of Edinburgh – site of the Grand Départ for the Tour de France next year – and finishes in Earlston.
Alongside Vernon, there is a raft of British talent lining up for the five‑day race including Ben Wiggins, son of Sir Bradley. National time trial champion in the under-23 category, the 21-year-old is now on the radar of several leading World Tour teams.
The Tour de France stage winners Olav Kooij, Filippo Ganna and Tim Merlier are among the leading World Tour names, while Pogacar’s UAE Emirates XRG team will be led by the Giro d’Italia stage winner Jhonatan Narváez.
The move from four days of racing last year to five days in 2026, giving it parity with the women’s Tour of Britain, is hoped to further boost interest as the buildup to the UK-based Grand Départ begins next year.