Jonathan Vaughters, boss of the EF Education-Easypost team, has said the death of 19-year-old British rider Fin Tarling highlights how cycling's governing body, the UCI, "cannot keep traffic off the roads" at lower-tier events. Tarling, who rode for the NSN Cycling Development Team and was the brother of Netcompany-Ineos rider Josh Tarling, died on Friday after a high-speed collision with a van that had strayed onto a closed road during the Volta a Portugal. Vaughters argues such incidents are preventable and criticised senior figures in the sport for treating stray traffic as an unavoidable part of road racing, saying the UCI focuses on minor rule changes while failing to properly regulate race safety.

Vaughters said smaller races, such as the third-tier Volta a Portugal, often lack the funding of bigger events like the Tour de France and use cheaper, less reliable methods to manage road closures, despite the UCI sanctioning them and taking fees from organisers. The UCI has offered condolences but made no further comment; the BBC has approached it for a response to Vaughters' remarks. Tarling's death is the sixth rider fatality in road races in the past three years, following that of Swiss rider Gino Mader in 2023, after which the UCI launched its SafeR safety initiative involving teams, races and riders.