European Championships: Josh Tarling dominates men's time trial in Emmen

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Five weeks on from scoring time trial bronze at his elite men’s UCI Road World Championships bow, Great Britain’s Josh Tarling blew away the competition at the UEC Road European Championships time trial, taking gold with a stunning ride in Emmen.

The 19-year-old neo-pro was quickest at every point along the course, flying through the second checkpoint 29 seconds up on second place before crossing the line with a time of 31:30 and an average speed of 56.762 kph.

He beat Stefan Bissegger into second place, the Swiss rider coming home 42 seconds down at 32:12. Belgium’s Wout van Aert took the bronze medal fractions of a second down on Bissegger, with a time of 32:13, while Stefan Küng – who had been neck-and-neck with Van Aert at the second checkpoint – finished 11th after falling out of contention with a heavy crash late on.

“It was hard,” Tarling said after the finish. “I felt weaker today than I did in the Worlds. And the wind was really hard. Originally, it was a lot of over and under with the crosswind, but it changed to a more steady crosswind both ways and no headwind or tailwind.

“It was just about holding a high power all day. It was really hard, yeah. I have CRO Race, and then I do Chrono des Nations with my brother [Finlay],” he added, mapping out his final races of the 2023 season.

Tarling, who is already British time trial champion, having beaten Fred Wright by 1:03 in Yorkshire in June, will now be able to wear the blue-striped white jersey of European champion at time trials throughout the upcoming season – starting at the Chrono des Nations.

His win is the third of his pro career on his 47th race day, with the stage 2 time trial at last month’s Renewi Tour his first at the WorldTour level after stepping up straight from the junior ranks to the Ineos Grenadiers squad.

How it unfolded

As is usually the case with the time trial at the UEC Road European Championships, the race in Emmen was a short one, measuring 29.8km. The out-and-back course featured few corners, no climbs whatsoever, and plenty of long straights for specialists to put down the power.

Dutchman Sjoerd Bax was the quickest of the early runners. His checkpoint times of 10:22 and 25:03, seeing him into the hot seat as his finishing time of 32:59, meant he crossed the line 29 seconds up on Portugal’s Ivo Oliveira.

His time at the top of the standings would only last for six minutes, though, as Belgium’s Yves Lampaert became the second man to break the 33-minute barrier. He sped through quickest at both checkpoints and the finish to set a time of 32:55, edging out Bax by just four seconds.

While Lampaert was racing to the line, however, the big favourites at the end of the order were up and running, blasting through the first checkpoint with the quickest times of the day.

Switzerland’s Stefan Küng went 12 seconds quicker than anyone else at the first checkpoint with a time of 10:05 before Belgium’s Wout van Aert went five seconds quicker, still at 10 minutes dead. Yet it was Great Britain’s World silver medallist Josh Tarling who set the benchmark with a time of 9:56.

Meanwhile, Lampaert’s time was holding strong at the finish, with Poland’s Michał Kwiatkowski (33:14) and France’s Bruno Armirail (33:04) coming close but not close enough to unseat the 32-year-old.

Back at the second checkpoint, things were neck-and-neck between Küng and Van Aert on 24:18, with the Belgian sneaking seven-tenths of a second up. Tarling would smash that time, though, passing the second checkpoint with an average speed of 60.442kph with a time of 23:49.

Seconds later, Dutchman Daan Hoole and Swiss specialist Stefan Bissegger both put Lampaert out of the hot seat, the former’s quickest time of 32:52 swiftly beaten in some style by the latter’s 32:12.

Italy’s Mattia Cattaneo also put in an impressive ride to go second at 32:43 before Dane Mikkel Bjerg went six seconds quicker still.

However, back down the course, the drama was unfolding among the top contenders was unfolding as Küng, buffeted by the winds, collided with the barriers at the side of the road and hit the ground hard.

Covered in blood, he persevered to the finish, crossing the line in 11th with a time of 32:59 before being tended to by medics.

Despite Küng’s travails, Van Aert was still battling for silver, though against Bissegger, who got quicker as his ride went on. In the end, the Swiss rider would edge out the Belgian by just over two-tenths of a second to grab second place.

The margin to first place was considerably larger, however. The riders may have set off at one-minute margins, but Tarling raced to the line seconds after Van Aert had come home. The young Briton had put 42 seconds into Bissegger and 43 into Van Aert to claim a stunning win, his third time trial victory of the season and the biggest of his young career.

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