Josh Tarling

Josh Tarling
	Tarling in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Joshua Michael Tarling
Born	15 February 2004 (age 20); Aberaeron, Ceredigion, Wales
Height	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	78 kg (172 lb)
Team information
Current team	Ineos Grenadiers
Discipline	Track; Road;
Role	Rider
Rider type	Time Trialist
Amateur team
2021–2022	FlandersColor Galloo
Professional team
2023–	Ineos Grenadiers
Major wins
	One-day races and Classics European Time Trial Championships (2023) National Time Trial Championships (2023, 2024)
Medal record
Representing Great Britain
Men's road bicycle racing
World Championships
European Championships
Men's track cycling
European Junior Championships

Joshua Michael Tarling^[1] (born 15 February 2004) is a Welsh track and road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Ineos Grenadiers.^[2] A World Junior champion in the time trial, he won the elite time trial at the 2023 European Road Cycling Championships at the age of 19.

Early and personal life

Tarling was born and grew up in Aberaeron, Ceredigion, west Wales. He speaks English and Welsh.^[3] He has a younger brother, Finlay, who is also a cyclist and has signed to the Israel Premier Tech Academy for the 2025 season.^[4] Their father, Michael, is a keen cyclist who used to race at Newport Velodrome.^[3]^[5] In 2012, Tarling’s parents started the West Wales Cycle Racing Team, in part to address the lack of cycling clubs in the area.^[3]^[6]

Tarling started racing when he was around six years old.^[5] He has described that he was “pretty much a full-time cyclist from the age of 10”, travelling across the UK and Europe with his family for races.^[7] He raced his first time trial when he was 12 years old. Tarling has moved from Wales to Andorra since turning professional in 2023.^[8]

Cycling career

Early career

Tarling became a double British champion when winning the points and team pursuit events at the 2022 British National Track Championships.^[9]

He won the World junior time trial championship in 2022, having won the silver medal in 2021.^[10]^[11]

Ineos Grenadiers (2023–)

For the 2023 season, Tarling joined UCI WorldTeam Ineos Grenadiers on a three-year contract.^[12]

His first race with the team was the Étoile de Bessèges in February; he finished 56th overall but finished second in the final stage time trial, which was won by Mads Pedersen.^[13] In March, Tarling competed in Paris–Nice; he made the Stage 7 breakaway group but had to abandon after crashing on a descent.^[14] Later that month he started his first elite classic, the E3 Saxo Classic, though he did not finish.^[15] In April he competed in his first monument, the Paris–Roubaix. Though he missed the time cut by six minutes, he finished the course, making him – at the age of 19 – the youngest rider to finish the men’s race in 86 years.^[16]

In June, aged 19, Tarling became the youngest winner of the British national elite men's time trial championship.^[17] The following month he raced in the Tour de Wallonie. He won the Youth Classification and finished second overall, beaten only by Ineos teammate Filippo Ganna.^[18] He finished second on the Stage 4 time-trial, which was also won by Ganna.^[19] In August, Tarling finished third in the time trial at the UCI Road World Championships behind Remco Evenepoel and Ganna.^[20] On 20 September 2023 he won the European Time Trial Championships, beating Stefan Bissegger and Wout Van Aert to the gold medal.^[21] In October, Tarling rounded out his road racing season with a win at Chrono des Nations, beating Evenepoel by 13 seconds and Bissegger in third place by more than a minute.^[22]

In February 2024, Tarling competed at the first round of the UCI Track Nations Cup in Adelaide, Australia. He took bronze in the madison with Ollie Wood and won gold in the team pursuit alongside William Tidball, Rhys Britton and Charlie Tanfield.^[23]^[24] Later that month, Tarling won the opening time trial of the O Gran Camiño, beating second-place finisher Darren Rafferty by 42 seconds.^[25]

Tarling raced in the Dwars door Vlaanderen in March, finishing in sixth position after a dramatic race, 44 seconds behind race winner Matteo Jorgenson.^[26] He followed this up with a 17th place finish at the Tour of Flanders – his second monument race – four days later.^[27] In April, Tarling was on the start line of Paris–Roubaix for a second time, however he was disqualified midway through the race for taking an illegal tow from the Ineos team car following a mechanical issue.^[28]^[29] In June, he raced in the Critérium du Dauphiné, where he finished 46th overall and came second in the Stage 4 time-trial to Remco Evenepoel.^[30] Later that month Tarling defended his National Time Trial title, beating runner-up Max Walker by more than a minute.^[31]

On 24 June 2024, it was announced that Tarling would be part of the Team GB squad competing at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.^[32] He came fourth in the time trial having suffered a puncture, finishing just 2.16 seconds outside the medal placings.^[33] He also competed in the road race a week later, crossing the line in 47th place with the peloton.^[34]

In early July 2024, Tarling signed a new three-year contract with Ineos, extending his stint with the team until the end of 2027.^[35]^[36] On 13 August the team announced that Tarling would be making his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta a España, which was followed by expectations that he would perform well in the two time trial stages at the start and end of the race.^[37] He finished in sixth place on the Stage 1 time trial, 8 seconds back from stage winner Brandon McNulty. On Stage 9, Tarling crashed on a technical descent; while he was initially able to continue, he abandoned the race a few kilometres later.^[38]^[39]

In September, Tarling was selected for the Great Britain team at the 2024 UCI Road World Championships.^[40] He competed in the time trial and finished fourth, beaten to the podium by Evenepoel, Ganna and Edoardo Affini.^[41]

On 7 October 2024 it was announced that Tarling had been selected for the UCI Track Cycling World Championships.^[42] He was forced to withdraw shortly before the event due to injuries sustained at the CRO Race earlier in the month.^[43]