The rejuvenation of the Ineos Grenadiers roster continues with the signing of teenage talent Josh Tarling.
The 18-year-old Briton currently races at junior level but will skip the U23 ranks and jump straight to the WorldTour in 2023. He has signed a three-year contract with the British team.
Tarling will not be thrown straight into the deep end of a WorldTour schedule straight away, instead combining his first steps in professional road racing with ambitions on the track.
It is a path already paved by Ethan Hayter in the past couple of years, while Tom Pidcock has also made his first road racing breakthroughs alongside his mountain biking and cyclo-cross pursuits.
Tarling is a tall and powerful rouleur who won the silver medal in the junior time trial at last year's UCI Road World Championships.
"Growing up watching Team Sky and then Team Ineos, I dreamt of one day being on that bus and in the jersey. I am excited to become a Grenadier and continue developing and learning from the likes of G [Geraint Thomas], Ethan [Hayter], Flippo [Ganna] as well as all the coaching staff and management.
"I am aware it's a big step but witnessing how the team has invested in a core group of young riders, it is the perfect environment for my development over the coming seasons."
Tarling has had a strong season in the junior ranks, winning the Tour de Gironde thanks to his victory in the time trial stage, and going on to win against the clock in the Trophée Centre Morhiban and LVM Saarland Trofeo. On the track, he won European junior titles in the Omnium and Team Pursuit last year and has been representing Wales at the Commonwealth Games in the past week.
When he won his Worlds silver medal in Bruges last year, he spoke of his combination of track and road as a benefit and described himself as "definitely not a sprinter" but a rider who likes attritional races and sees a future in the Classics.
"We are delighted to have another young British talent join the group. Josh is only 18 and we're already seeing some big performances from him," said Ineos Grenadiers deputy team principal Rod Ellingworth.
"His TT at last year's world championships was one of those standout performances and now we want to support and help Josh build upon results like that as part of our talent programme. There is a network in place to develop him further and allow him to become the kind of rider he wants to be."
Tarling is Ineos' second confirmed signing ahead of 2023, following fellow British talent Leo Hayter, who won the U23 Giro d'Italia in June.
In the past couple of years the British team's activity in the transfer market has been dominated by youth, with Pidcock and both Hayter brothers among a string of arrivals that also includes Luke Plapp, Magnus Sheffield, Carlos Rodriguez, and Ben Tulett.
Ineos are expected to wave goodbye to Richard Carapaz, while Adam Yates is also out of contract.
