Josh Tarling wins British National men's time trial title for second time
Walker in second as Vernon in third
European time trial champion Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) successfully defended his British national time trial title on Wednesday, beating Max Walker (Astana Qazaqstan Development) into second place on the 30km course in Catterick.
The 20-year-old blitzed the course, setting by far the quickest time at the 15km intermediate checkpoint at attack time of 19:21 before going on to cross the line with a time of 39:22, an average speed of 45.74 kph.
Walker took second place, holding the hot seat for the final 20 minutes of the event after setting a strong time of 40:35. He’d beat Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech) into third place, his time a further 10 seconds off Tarling at 40:45.
“I was a bit nervous coming into it – there are a few guys on good form and everything is getting close to the Olympics and it’s a last chance to get a TT in so I was a bit stressed. I just committed and hung on," Tarling said after the finish.
"Last year, if you blew up, you could still roll fast, but the second lap this year I was three or four km an hour slower. It was way harder this year, but it’s all going well. I’m going to try and knuckle down after this and go to altitude for a few weeks. I need to sharpen up a bit, but I’m excited about the rest of the season.”
Oliver Knight (Cofidis) had earlier spent some time in the hot seat, having set the quickest time at both the 15km mark (20:56) and at the finish (41:19), beating Zeb Kyffin’s (TDT-Unibet) time of 42:24.
However, several of the top favourites, including a swathe of WorldTour pros, would make their runs later on. Max Walker would be next to go quickest, putting 44 seconds into Knight to go top with a time of 40:35.
Samuel Watson’s (Groupama-FDJ) intermediate time of 20:15 put him top of the leaderboard at the midway point, but he’d fade as his ride went on and ended up second to Walker with a time of 40:58.
Ethan Vernon also put in a good ride, finishing with a 40:45 to nip into second place, 10 seconds down on Walker. Like Watson, Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) had also rode well at the 15km checkpoint with a time of 20:15, but he too faded and crossed the line well down with a time of 41:34.
Of course, his teammate, the reigning champion Tarling was the last man down the start ramp, and he met all expectations on the 30km course. He led by almost a minute over second place at the mid-race checkpoint, becoming the only man to beat the 20-minute barrier with a time of 19:21. He duly held his large advantage over the second half of the course to easily claim another national title.
Results
Results powered by FirstCycling
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59
Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Prior to joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur.
Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Remco Evenepoel, Demi Vollering, and Anna van der Breggen.
As well as original reporting, news and feature writing, and production work, Dani also oversees How to Watch guides and works on The Leadout newsletter throughout the season. Their favourite races are Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix and their favourite published article is from the 2024 edition of the latter: 'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
The Col du Tourmalet: 30 facts about the Tour de France's most-visited climb
Feared Pyrenean climb makes its 61st appearance in the Tour de France in 2024 -
How are Tour de France numbers assigned?
We take a look at how La Grande Boucle decides on each rider’s number -
Biniam Girmay to hunt for Tour de France success after first week crash-out in Giro d'Italia
Intermarché-Wanty confirm Eritrean in eight-man Tour de France lineup -
Tour de France glossary
A quick guide to some of the Tour's more significant jargon