Helmet Standards under Scrutiny after Death of Finlay Tarling

Helmet safety standards are under the spotlight after the tragic death of Finlay Tarling at the Volta a Portugal.

The 19-year-old pro died on Friday after he collided with a vehicle that entered the course and was traveling against the flow of the race.

Speaking to the BBC Sport and then to Velo, Adam Hansen, president of the CPA riders’ group, called for the UCI to urgently review its use of helmet safety standards that are not fit for purpose.

The pro peloton currently rides with helmets manufactured under the same 29-year-old standards applied to commuters and recreational riders.

“One thing we have to look at is helmets. They need a major upgrade,” Hansen told BBC Sport this weekend.

“Bike helmets [in racing] only need to meet standard testing like all helmets. EU standard CE EN 1078 is only rated for 19.5kph. I do not believe this is enough for road racing,” Hansen said.

The CE EN1078 is a European safety standard that was published in 1997. It mandates that all helmets sold in the UK and EU can pass a set of standardized tests covering shock absorption, retention, and coverage. CSPC 1203 is an equivalent standard applied to helmets sold in the U.S., albeit with more stringent test criteria.

Additional safety features such as MIPS anti-rotation technology are not mandatory under CE EN 1078.

How do safety standards applied to recreational riders make sense in the pro peloton?

The CE EN 1078 is clearly inappropriate in a pro peloton that moves at 50kph.

Hansen told Velo that the UCI should require more stringent helmet standards to ensure rider safety.

“Racing cyclists travel much faster than people riding to work. The risk is so much higher,” he said. “It’s a point that we must look into in [UCI safety group] SafeR.”

Hansen said he was urging the UCI to review its helmet standards far before Tarling’s terrible death, but to no avail.

“In the equipment commission and during SafeR, I have brought up the issue about helmets’ low standards for over two years now,” Hansen told Velo.

“Sometimes there needs to be a tragedy before a change,” he added, referring to Tarling’s death Friday.

Hansen: Helmets must be priority over airbags

Racing has moved very fast since CE EN 1078 came into force.

Average speeds are increasing all across the calendar. The recent Tour de France was the fastest on record at an average of 43.3kph.

Increased speed leads to increased danger. Crashes are becoming increasingly devastating.

Tarling is the latest tragedy after the recent deaths of Gino Mäder, André Drege, Muriel Furrer, and Samuele Privitera.

The UCI has been grappling with how to ensure safety in this rapidly accelerating sport.

The governing body is already investigating tracker technology and airbag skinsuits, and recently revised regulations around bunch sprints.

However, Hansen suggested the UCI is misdirecting some of its priorities.

“Helmets are more important than airbags,” he said. “But we should not stop the airbag momentum.”

Hansen did concede that applying additional helmet safety regulations would be far from straightforward in a sport that races at different tiers.

Buy-in from helmet manufacturers would be essential and likely very problematic.

“The real issue and the good thing about cycling is that all the rules apply to all races around the world,” Hansen told Velo.

“If there is a stricter rule for a helmet, then it comes to the point of where is the line at which it must be used. In all categories? We have WorldTour cross over with ProTeam, and WorldTour cross over with ProTeam and Conti, as we saw in Czech Tour,” Hansen said. “There is no closed system like in other sports or like F1.”

Velo reached out to the UCI for comment on a review of helmet safety standards and is awaiting a response.