Britain’s Josh Tarling broke Australian hearts in the men’s junior time trial at the Road World Championships, snatching the world title from Hamish McKenzie after the Australian had held the hot seat after his own excellent ride.
Tarling started fast, lost a few seconds after catching his minute-man but then finished fast to stop the clock in 34:59.
McKenzie set 35:18 and watched as most of his rivals failed to beat him but was in agony as Tarling was faster at the time checks. Emil Herzog (Germany) finished fast to take bronze in a time of 35:32. The USA's Artem Shmidt finished sixth, 1:37 dow on Tarling.
Tarling only turns 19 in February but will ride for Ineos Grenadiers in 2023 as the British team continues to sign some of the best young talent in the world.
The Welsman won a silver medal last year but stepped up on the podium and pulled on the rainbow jersey just hours after Zoe Backstedt won the junior women’s title giving Britain two rainbow jerseys.
“It definitely hasn’t sunk in yet, it just feels like a relief, there was so much hard work. I was a bit annoyed after last year and I really wanted it,” Tarling said.
“I had a bit of a bad start to the season with injuries and feeling empty but from halfway through the year it has been all for this.
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Tarling explained his high-speed ride on the 28.8km two-lap course around Wollongong.
"The first lap is important because it feels like it’s all uphill at the start, especially with the headwind. I was just trying to go as hard as I could over that first climb and then it was downhill with a tailwind to the finish," he said.
"I was hurting but when I started to see Verbrugghe I eased off a bit. I took it a bit too easy and then had to kick for the last few sections. It was mainly all about the corners and trying to get them perfect.”
Tarling will only celebrated with family and his Great Britain teammates after the junior road race on Friday.
"We need to get another result in that and after that I'll go home and celebrate, though maybe we'll celebrate with the team now a little bit too."
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
