Sometimes it’s necessary to taste disappointment and bitterness to return to the top. Josh Tarling is testament to that.
In the latter half of last season, the Ineos Grenadiers time trial specialist finished fourth at both the Olympic Games and World Championships, and rode to a below-par sixth on stage one of the Vuelta a España.
He may have only turned 21 three months ago, but in his first two years in the WorldTour he had built a reputation for being one of the fastest and prolific against the clock. In each of those three races, therefore, he had expected more.
All winter he was stewing over those performances. “I tried to forget about that part of last season and it’s really motivated this part of the season,” Tarling said. “Last year I was struggling in general.”
That frustration has served him well. He won a 12km time trial at February's UAE Tour, and then claimed the biggest victory of his young career by winning stage two of the Giro d’Italia in Tirana, Albania, beating the new maglia rosa Primož Roglič by less than one second.
“For sure this is the top, this is my first Grand Tour stage win, it’s super. I rank it at the top [of his palmarés],” he beamed after becoming the first ever Welshman to win a stage of the Italian Grand Tour.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet and I’m not sure it’s going to. It’s such a big step and it’s exciting for the rest of the Giro. It’s super special and now with the confidence I have I can look forward to the next one.”
Tarling got his ride underway at 15:28, and he was sat in the hot seat until Mads Pedersen, winner of stage one, crossed the line at 17:15.
That meant Tailing waiting, hoping and praying for more than 90 minutes that no-one would better his time around the 13.7km circuit.
“It was stressful!” he laughed. “For sure I thought Roglič was going to be fast and at the top of the climb he had gained more than I would have liked, so it was really stressful to watch on the way in.
“There’s a lot of riders here, so many favourites, and they were all spread out between everybody else, so it was a long day.”
But a long day that ends with with victory. After such a wretched 2024 for Ineos Grenadiers, the British team have now won 11 races this year – three less than what they managed in the whole of last season.
“I’ve just stepped everything up, and the team has stepped up as well,” Tarling said. “Everything’s coming together and it’s an exciting time.”
