Matthew Brennan lashes out at UCI and race organisers after Tarling's death: 'Nothing has changed. It’s a disgrace'

We already knew that Brennan doesn't mince words. The sprint specialist decimated the peloton in the Vuelta after a day full of crashes on Stage 8, including Tadej Pogačar. “A lot of people thought they were superheroes today. I’m willing to take some risks, but if people are happy to crash just to try to win, I’m not really comfortable with that,” he said.

Later in the race, he also called out the race organizers for failing to take action despite a massive heat wave in Spain. “Ordinary people with office jobs have set their air conditioning to 20 degrees, and I think the people at the UCI office have too. When we’re out here working our butts off for them, it’s not pleasant. But we do it,” he said heatedly.

Once the dust had settled on the Vuelta and Brennan returned home with five stage wins, the Brit had one final flourish. In an interview with the BBC, he mentioned the death of his close friend Finlay Tarling, who was struck by a car on the course during the Tour of Portugal and died as a result.

Brennan watched the funeral online and called the whole situation “very sad.” “I told my friend: It’s sad that we’ve lost someone and that nothing has changed. It’s a disgrace. Instead of the organisers saying this should never happen again, it feels like the world is just moving on. Nothing has changed; there are still car races on the track.”

Brennan is advocating for an independent body to oversee safety in cycling races. His team, Visma | Lease a Bike, had long been working on such an initiative, known as SafeR. But that organisation has since been absorbed by the UCI, leaving riders and cycling teams without an independent body to scrutinise the UCI’s actions.

"It's unbelievable and shocking that you lose a friend and nothing changes. The major organisers and the UCI should consider what they need to do to improve safety. Personally, I think there needs to be an independent organisation that ensures the organisers, the UCI, and everyone else adhere to a few strict rules. The riders’ safety must be the top priority.”

Brennan has seen and realised that this is not the case now, even after Tarling’s death. In Spain, he had to race during the hottest part of the day. “There are major external factors, such as television. Instead of racing at 9:00 a.m., we raced at 3:00 p.m., in the sweltering heat. An independent organisation can tell the teams whether something is safe or not.”

"That would benefit the sport, and hopefully put an end to these tragic incidents, which have even occurred at the World Championships," said Brennan regarding the death of Muriel Furrer in 2024, following a crash in Switzerland during the World Championships. “And also what happened to Finlay, and all those other tragic incidents that occur in the sport.”