Renewi Tour 2023: Josh Tarling of Ineos Grenadiers wins stage 2 individual time trial across 13.6km to Sluis(Image credit: Bas Czerwinski/Getty Images)
Joshua Tarling of Ineos Grenadiers on his ITT ride that would put him in the hot seat at 15:05(Image credit: Bas Czerwinski/Getty Images)
Tim Wellens of UAE Team Emirates rides the ITT(Image credit: Bas Czerwinski/Getty Images)
Kasper Asgreen of Soudal-QuickStep on the course(Image credit: Bas Czerwinski/Getty Images)
Fred Wright of Bahrain Victorious on the course(Image credit: Bas Czerwinski/Getty Images)
Jos Van Emden of Jumbo-Visma rides the 13.6km individual time trial stage(Image credit: Bas Czerwinski/Getty Images)
Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Deceuninck rides the ITT in the Blue Leader Jersey(Image credit: Bas Czerwinski/Getty Images)
Tim Merlier of Soudal-QuickStep rides the ITT in the Green Points Jersey(Image credit: Bas Czerwinski/Getty Images)
Jumbo-Visma's Olav Kooij rides the ITT in the Red Best Young Rider Jersey(Image credit: Bas Czerwinski/Getty Images)
Dylan Groenewegen of Jayco AlUla rides the 13.6km course(Image credit: Bas Czerwinski/Getty Images)
Josh Tarling of Ineos Grenadiers, just 19 years of age, celebrates at podium as stage winner(Image credit: Bas Czerwinski/Getty Images)
Josh Tarling of Ineos Grenadiers celebrates as Blue Leader Jersey winner after the ITT victory(Image credit: Bas Czerwinski/Getty Images)
British champion Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) has taken his first WorldTour win, finishing with the fastest time in the stage 2 individual time trial at the Renewi Tour in Sluis.
Tarling, 19, covered the 13.6km course with a winning time of 15:05 and an average speed of 54 kph. Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates) finished second at 14 seconds back, and Yves Lampaert (Soudal-QuickStep) in third at 18 seconds back.
"It's crazy. I'm so happy. I think we did super good in the the team. I am super supported, and I'm super happy," said Tarling, who has finished no less than third place in every time trial he has started this year, including a victory at the British Championships and a bronze medal at the World Championships.
"I thought I started fast, and then I heard the splits and started panicking, so I tried to get everything out that I could. I think it worked well with the wind and stuff, so it ended up working really good," Tarling said of his pacing strategy during the race.
"I don't know if I was calm; it was panic from about halfway, but it was only a short-ish time trial, and it was about getting everything out. I had to stay above [the pacing plan] to win."
Tarling now leads the overall classification at the Renewi Tour as the race heads into stage 3 from Aalter to Geraardsbergen on Friday.
"We'll see how good we can get, but we have other super talents in the team, so we have a lot of options now."
The second stage at the Renewi Tour was a 13.6km race against the clock in Sluis. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) started the time trial last after winning stage 1 and taking the first leader's jersey.
Lennard Hofstede (Jumbo-Visma) was the first rider off the starting ramp, and a few of the earlier fast finishers included Daan Hoole (Lidl-Trek), Luke Plapp (Ineos Grenadiers), Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) and Jos van Emden (Jumbo-Visma), all covering the course with average speeds upwards of 52 kph.
The times continued getting faster, with Wellens setting a best time of 15:19.
However, his time in the hot seat was brief as 19-year-old Tarling stormed through the finish line with a best time of 15:05 and an average speed of 54 kph.
The times behind Tarling re-shuffled throughout the event with podium performances from Belgian riders; Wellens holding onto the second fastest time, then Lampaert with the third fastest time of 15:23,
Other top-10 finishes came from Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek) at 15:24, Florian Vermeersch (Lotto-Dstny) at 15:26, and Kasper Asgreen (Soudal-QuickStep) in sixth place at 15:26.
Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
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