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Josh Tarling will be gunning for Olympic gold in Saturday’s road time trial, and plans to reward himself with a McDonald’s if he pulls it off.
The 20-year-old Tarling is the fresh-faced emerging star who is being tipped by many to pip the likes of world champion Remco Evenepoel, Filippo Ganna and Wout Van Aert to win on the streets of Paris this weekend.
The Welshman has been honing his craft for many years now, competing in his first time trials on open roads when he turned 12. The reward for a good ride then was a McDonald’s on the way home, a routine he hopes to repeat this weekend.
“There’s a McDonald’s by the hotel here,” he said. “I think on Sunday I’ll be hitting that.”
The custom was established when Tarling was a regular at the Ystwyth Cycling Club’s weekly 10-mile time trial, and it continued until he was 16.
“We’d finish the 10 quite late and on the way back there was a Maccy D’s,” Tarling said. “I would be a lot skinnier if it wasn’t for that.”
Tarling will be up against some mighty competition this weekend. Evenepoel is fresh from finishing third overall at the Tour de France, while Ganna is a two-time time trial world champion and the reigning Italian champion.
“Ganna and Remco and Wout have all done much more impressive stuff than I have,” Tarling said. “Remco was flying in the Tour, Ganna won the time trial in the Giro, Wout’s coming back (from injury) but he’s still Wout, so my name flies under the radar quite nicely.”
Tarling does not yet have the same level of name recognition, but he has some serious chops. In 2022, the year before he turned professional with the Ineos Grenadiers, Tarling won nine of the 10 time trials he raced.
Last year he won bronze at the world championships in Glasgow, then claimed the European title last September, all before turning 20 in February. In June he won the British title for a second year running.
“The goal is to win it,” Tarling said of his Olympic debut. “The time trial is determined on how hard you go, so as long as you get everything out then I know that’s what I’ve got, but I’d like to win it.”
The 32.4km course through the centre of Paris is the shortest and flattest course in modern Olympic history.
Tarling would have liked a few more twists, knowing a technical circuit would play to his strengths, but – after doing a little over three laps in Wednesday’s recon ride – he feels he knows where he can get the best out of himself.
Even as others talk him up, the laid-back Tarling insisted he was not feeling the pressure.
“No (pressure), because I can’t control it,” he said. “I know I’ve done everything I can on my side so as long as I’m happy with my ride I’ll be happy.”
Tarling has already scored one psychological victory over Ganna. The Ineos team-mates share a coach in former Italian time trial champion Dario Cioni, but Cioni will be in the team car of Tarling and not his compatriot this weekend.
“If he wanted him, he should have booked him, eh?!” Tarling said with a laugh. “Any TT he can, he does with me, I’m used to him and I’m happy to have him.”
