No matter the result, Saturday's opening time trial of the Vuelta a España was always going to be a difficult one for Netcompany Ineos' Josh Tarling, and his team manager, Geraint Thomas, said the team "could not be prouder" of him after the Welshman's third-placed performance in Monaco.
Racing little more than a week after his brother Finlay's tragic death in the Tour of Portugal, Josh Tarling's confirmation as part of the Netcompany Ineos squad for the Vuelta on Thursday was, Thomas told Eurosport, a way to "get back to the day job, so to speak, and find comfort just in the process."
But when the Vuelta got underway with the 9.4 kilometre time trial on Saturday, Tarling proved more than up to the task of turning in a superb ride as well, finishing a narrow third to winner Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and British National TT champion Ethan Hayter (Soudal-QuickStep).
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A first week Giro d'Italia time trial winner in 2025, Tarling briefly found himself in the hot seat as stage leader, before finally having to settle for a podium spot as Hayter and then Pogačar overhauled his time. But as Thomas said, his simply participating in the Vuelta was something the team felt was hugely positive in itself, regardless of the result.
"For a start, it’s just great to have him here," Thomas told Eurosport. "You know, he was really keen to ride. He just wanted to get back to the day job, so to speak, and find comfort just in the process and being around the team and everything being as normal as possible and to be fully back in with that. And it’s great to have him here."
Tarling's much greater struggles outside simple competition since the events of eight days ago put everything he did in the race into a very different context, Thomas recognised. But that meant, too, that what he did on the 9.4 kilometres of the Monaco time trial was all the more remarkable, and Thomas paid full tribute to that as well.
"Obviously it’s just been unimaginable what he’s gone through the last week or so. But to put in a performance like that at the end of the week he’s had is just fantastic, really. It just shows the class of him as an athlete and a person, really. We couldn’t be prouder."
At the finish itself, teammates finishing after Tarling made a point of stopping and congratulating him as he recovered from his effort, and as Thomas said, even if the course - very challenging in terms of multiple corners and changes of direction - was always going to favour specialists like Tarling, simply racing and competing as he did was hugely impressive.
"I haven’t had a chance to see him since," he told Eurosport, "But I think the course suited him in the way that technically he’s one of the best. Yesterday [Friday] was probably the first time he’s ridden the bike properly in a while, so to still put that in is insane, really."
The next steps are exactly the same as the previous ones up to now for Netcompany Ineos at the Vuelta, Thomas explained, with Tarling getting all the backing possible from staff and teammates.
"We’ll just continue to just be normal around him now and support him as best we can and it’s hopefully the start of a good trip for these eight boys on the bus," Thomas said.
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