Parents of the late Finlay Tarling moved by GoFundMe campaign and the support from the cycling world, including Van der Poel

The parents of cyclist Finlay Tarling, who died last week during the Tour of Portugal, have once again expressed their gratitude on social media. Michael and Dawn Tarling had already done so on Saturday with a detailed post on social media, which they repeated the following day after a GoFundMe page was set up in honor of their son.

On Saturday, the parents of the rider, who died after a collision with a car, posted an emotional message on social media. “These have been the hardest days of our lives, and it took us a while before we could post this. What has helped us immensely is the outpouring of messages, emails, articles, and phone calls from our family, friends, team, local community, and sports club. Hearing how lovingly and warmly Fin was remembered has been a tremendous source of support for us.”

"We can't thank you enough for all the support we've received. I don't know how we'll move forward, but with the support of our family, friends, and the community, we'll find a way. Although our broken hearts will never fully heal, he was not only our son and brother, but also our best friend.”

"Gentle, loving, and with a dry sense of humor—we will miss him terribly," said Michael and Dawn Tarling. "Although he was only 19, his short life was filled with wonderful experiences and accomplishments, and we are incredibly proud of him. If you hop on your bike in the coming days, please take a moment to think of him."

The post—which has already received more than 65,000 likes—drew many heartwarming comments. Mathieu van der Poel, for example, wrote: “Life isn’t fair 😢 I wish you all the strength in the world.” His partner, Roxanne Bertels, also left a comment. “Our deepest condolences on your loss 🥹❤️ We’re sending you all our love.”

Well-known (former) cyclists such as Marcel Kittel, Robbie McEwen, Matthew Brennan, Bradley Wiggins, Grischa Niermann, and numerous riders from NSN—the team Tarling rode for—left comments under the personal message written by Michael Tarling, while a GoFundMe campaign has also been launched to help other young cyclists, like Tarling, enjoy cycling from a young age.

That really moved Father Tarling. In a second post, he shared the link to the GoFundMe. 'We haven’t quite found the peace of mind yet to make a concrete plan, but we’re so moved by all the messages of support for Fin and us that we want to create a legacy for him that helps other young cyclists share the joy and pursue the same dreams he had on his bike. 100% of all donations will go toward supporting cycling for children and young people.”