'There should be stricter standards' - Seixas reiterates peloton's call for improved safety
Paul Seixas has reiterated the peloton’s call for improved safety standards in the aftermath of the death of Finlay Tarling at the Volta a Portugal in August. The 19-year-old was killed when he was struck by a motorist who entered the course on stage 8.
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Following further incidents involving motorists encroaching onto the course at the Coppa Bernocchi and Tre Valli Varesine, the peloton held a protest at Il Lombardia, delaying the start by five minutes to draw attention to the urgent need to enforce safety standards.
In an appearance on Canal+ programme ‘Clique’ this week, the eventual Il Lombardia winner Seixas recalled how he had raced against Tarling as a junior and pointed to how tragedies in cycling risked being normalised.
“Honestly, it’s terrible, and the problem is, he’s not the only one,” Seixas said. “What’s more, I raced with him, and it really affects me. It really affected me at the time, because what’s terrible is that we’ll say to ourselves: ‘That’s yet another cyclist this year who has lost his life in a race.’”
Ahead of Il Lombardia, Ben Healy and Tom Pidcock invited their fellow pros to join in a demonstration to draw attention to the serious shortfalls in safety the peloton had experienced in 2026. The protest was organised by the riders themselves, without input from their union, the CPA.
“I think it really affected everyone, all the riders,” Seixas said. “You realise that sometimes there really are organisational issues. The organisers do their best – that’s not what we’re saying – but sometimes there should be stricter standards.
“We protested about this at Il Lombardia, at the start of the race for five minutes. What happened is extremely serious. Families are affected. It’s very serious that this should happen at a race. A professional organisation, riders losing their lives – it’s frightening.”
The Decathlon CMA CGM rider produced a series of spectacular displays in his second pro season, winning Itzulia Basque Country, Flèche Wallonne and Il Lombardia, as well as placing fourth overall at his debut Tour de France.
The 20-year-old’s Tour debut was briefly in doubt when he suffered a heavy crash on the penultimate stage of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, but he recovered in time for the Grand Départ in Barcelona.
“Let’s just say that sometimes you get a bit stressed, but then you tell yourself it’s not a matter of life and death either,” Seixas said of the risks of his sport.
“When you’re in a peloton, there’s a slight downhill slope and you’re travelling at 80 km/h, sometimes you do get a bit scared. You think to yourself: ‘This could be serious’. But you mustn’t dwell on it – that’s the trick.
“And you know that everyone else is aware of it too, so they’re not going to do anything reckless either.”
