'You have to finish. It's worth it' – teenager Tarling battles Paris-Roubaix time cut

They're stories that crop up at Paris-Roubaix every year – the last men into the velodrome, battling to reach the finish despite being minutes outside the time cut at the end of the most brutal cobbled Classic of the spring.

Of course, the 2023 race was no different. 135 classified finishers, 37 DNFs, and then three in between, crossing the finish line of the Roubaix velodrome but 'hors délai' –out of time.

At 14:17 down on the time cut of 26:18 behind solo winner Mathieu van der Poel, 138th placed Karl Patrick Lauk (Bingoal WB) was the last man home in the post-race classification. His teammate Dorian De Maeght rolled in four minutes earlier, while Ineos Grenadiers neo-pro Josh Tarling finished 136th, 6:28 outside the limit.

The Briton, who turned pro straight from the junior ranks, certainly had a day to remember at his debut Paris-Roubaix. The fresh-faced 19-year-old – the youngest man to take on the race in 86 years – headed out from Compiègne in the morning in crisp new kit, fingers taped and excited to tackle the cobbles.

Six hours, a crash, and two punctures later, he raced into the velodrome caked in dirt and dust, his jersey white with salt from sweat.

"Long," was the first word Tarling reached for when asked how he would describe his Paris-Roubaix debut.

"I crashed. We led the first two sectors and I crashed with Luke. I got back to the front group with [Kasper] Asgreen and then had two punctures. I was on my own for like 120km so it's just a long day.

"Last man standing, wasn't it?" he added when asked why he persevered. "My girlfriend would shout at me if I didn't make it here so... It's just Paris-Roubaix, isn't it? You have to finish. It's worth it."

Tarling said in the morning that he had been taking tips from team leader Filippo Ganna and road captain Luke Rowe in the lead-up to the race.

Having taken on Paris-Roubaix juniors in the past two seasons, plus "recons and a sportive and stuff", guidance ahead of his first senior Paris-Roubaix would be needed, even if he did get his first taste of the cobbles as a pro at E3 Saxo Classic last month.

"I did a recon with just Ganna which was… scary, hanging on," Tarling said shortly before the start of the race. "Then one with Luke which was scary, but he knows how to do stuff, you know?

"So you have to listen to and do basically everything he says. It was 100% worth it. Just being around them makes you a lot more chilled and makes you think you can do your job."

Once he, his Ineos Grenadiers teammates, and the rest of the peloton hit the road to Roubaix, both Tarling and Rowe took up the pacesetting at the head of the peloton. The pair – experienced old head and Roubaix neophyte alike – would both fall victim to the bad luck of Roubaix, soon enough, though.

With 150km to go and having traversed the first three cobbled sectors of the day, Tarling slid out and into Rowe. The pair then faced a frantic chase back on as Jumbo-Visma soon upped the pace.

"It was super cool," Tarling said. "It was nice to lead the first couple of sectors with Luke. Annoyingly we crashed on that off-camber right, and then chased back to the front group. A few more sectors and then two punctures.

"A crash and two punctures so I've done Paris-Roubaix right, no?"

Tarling concluded that, despite the carnage and the suffering, it was all worth it just to finish the Hell of the North. He'll be back on the cobbles whenever his team send him, he said.

"All the crowds are the biggest I've ever seen, and it was 100% worth it to get here. I'm tired but I can always sleep tonight, no?

"As long as they keep saying if I want to do these races, I'll keep saying yes. Trying to get as much experience as possible. It's my favourite race, this and Strade, so hopefully next year I'll get to do them both."