'Parents shouldn’t fear their children not coming home from a race'

Parents should not be scared their children might not come back from a race following the death of Finlay Tarling, says the winner of stage one of the Tour of Britain Women.

Dutch cyclist Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx - Protime) sprinted to take the opening stage in Cockermouth.

Before the race began, there was a touching tribute to the British 19-year-old who died last week in a high-speed collision with a van, which had strayed on to the road during the eighth stage of the Volta a Portugal.

As the 114 riders lined up to set off on the first stage in Cockermouth, a photograph of Tarling was projected on to a large screen and a minute's applause rang out around the packed centre of the market town.

After her win, Wiebes said: "Most of these riders have family at home. Your parents shouldn't be scared that you are not coming back from a race.

“It cannot happen again, and it's happened already too many times," the 27-year-old added.

Safety has been on the minds of every rider since the teenager's death stunned the cycling community.

The Tour of Britain is a smaller event in the cycling calendar - similar to the Volta a Portugal. But they both use 'rolling roadblocks', where police and officials travel in front of and behind the peloton.