Chrono des Nations: Josh Tarling beats Remco Evenepoel to secure time trial victory
Stefan Bissegger rounds out podium in third place in Les Herbiers
Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) secured the victory in the race against the clock at Chrono des Nations in Les Herbiers, France.
The British and European champion covered the 45.43km course with the fastest time of 52:02, beating World Champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) by 13 seconds.
Tarling and Evenepoel were the only two riders to average above 52km/h.
Third place on the day went to Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-EasyPost), who finished at 1:10 behind Tarling.
The early best time at the first intermediate checkpoint was set by promising young Belgian TT specialist Alec Segaert (Lotto-Dstny), only for Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates), French National TT Champion Rémi Cavagna (Soudal-QuickStep) and Bisseger to go better.
However, with Tarling the only rider to go under 13 minutes at that checkpoint and Evenepoel just 10 seconds back, it was clear that, barring major incidents, the World and European time trial champions were set to battle for the top spot of the day.
A winner of the junior edition of the same race in 2022 and a bronze medallist in the Worlds in Glasgow, Tarling subsequently proved to be the fastest in each of the checkpoints, pushing his initial advantage to 17 seconds at the second intermediate split and then maintaining his consistency all the way to the finish.
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Evenepoel had to settle for second in his last race of the season, a week after he had finished ninth in Il Lombardia following an early crash.
“I couldn't go faster, so I don't want to make too many excuses. It went smoothly, but Tarling was slightly better,” Evenepoel told Het Laatste Nieuws.
“I started quickly, but so did Tarling. He held his lead until the finish, so that start made the difference. I came a little closer to the finish in that last part.”
“I was fighting against the wind, and riders weighing 80 kilos do that slightly better while I get pushed from left to right.”
Evenepoel said his crash and injuries incurred at Il Lombardia had not helped but that overall, he said, “it probably didn’t make a difference.”
“I did my best; the season is over. And 50 minutes of going flat out on a difficult course was a nice way to end it.”
Results
Results powered by FirstCycling

Kirsten Frattini has been the Editor of Cyclingnews since December 2025, overseeing editorial operations and output across the brand and delivering quality, engaging content.
She manages global budgets, racing & events, production scheduling, and contributor commissions, collaborating across content sections and teams in the UK, Europe, North America, and Australia to ensure audience and subscription growth across the brand.
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.
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Where will the top men's riders start their 2026 season? Early-season schedules for Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel and more
A look at the early-season programmes of the stars of the men's peloton, from Pogačar and Pidcock to Philipsen and Pedersen -
'He's barely fallen behind' – Wout van Aert ramps up training hours as injury recovery progresses positively
Visma-Lease a Bike coach Jan Boven says Belgian 'can definitely look forward to the spring Classics' -
'We played the game and it was not good, we lost' – Strong UAE Team ADQ trio takes to front at Women's Tour Down Under but loses final battle with Rüegg
'Not nice, but we can also keep our head up – we did everything for it' said DS Michel Cornelisse after team took second, third and fourth on the final stage and GC -
Sorry, Tom Pidcock, Leadville has just banned your new drop bar Pinarello
What does this mean for Tom Pidcock's mysterious gravel calendar now?



