Josh Tarling stormed to a second successive victory at the British National Time Trial Championships on Wednesday afternoon.
The current reigning European champion was untouchable on the course in North Yorkshire. Tarling took the honours with a time of 39:21:50. Max Walker (Astana Qazaqstan Development Team) was second, 1:14 behind Tarling.
Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech) took third and finished 1:24 back on the Welshman.
Tarling’s dominance on the course meant that he was already almost a minute clear of his rivals at the halfway time check, 15km in. His advantage only ticked upwards as the course rolled on in Catterick, and he tore around the countryside in his European champion’’ jersey.
Sam Watson (Groupama-FDJ) put in a solid ride, but missed out on a spot on the podium by 13 seconds. Behind Tarling, Ineos Grenadiers’ next best-placed rider was Conor Swift who took fifth with a time of 41:09:04. Former national champion Ethan Hayter placed seventh, coming in 2:13 down.
Similarly to the elite women’s race, won by Anna Henderson, the course started and finished in the Catterick Military Centre. The 30km route involved two ascents of the Throstle Gill climb which added up to 512 metres of elevation gain in total.
Tarling was no stranger to a time trial course with a sting in its tail. The Welshman previously won a bronze medal in the time trial at the World Championships in Scotland last summer, which featured a gruelling final climb to Stirling Castle. His past form meant he was the outright favourite going into the race.
At the intermediate time check, Tarling’s time of 19:21:42 immediately set him on the path to a second national title in a row. Watson was the only man near him, but was still almost a minute back at 20:15:30.
With Tarling set to win, all the attention turned towards who would challenge for the runner up spot behind him. John Archibald was ruled out of contention after a mechanical issue with his bike forced him to withdraw.
Hayter was in contention in the early stages, recording a time of 20:15:62 at the 15km point, but faded in the second half of the race and slipped out of the top three.
Tarling kept up his monstrous pace on the second lap of the course meaning that he would eventually pass the rider who went off just before him, Charlie Tanfield (Saint Piran) which underlined his superiority.
The Welshman crossed the line with a time of 39:21:50 to wrap up a second consecutive title and held an average speed of 45.74 km/h.
The under 23 men’s race is currently taking place. This article will be updated with results shortly.
Results
British National Road championships: men’s elite time trial (30km)
1. Josh Tarling, Ineos Grenadiers, in 39:21
2. Max Walker, Astana Qazaqstan development team, +1:14
3. Ethan Vernon, Israel-Premier Tech, +1:24
4. Sam Watson, Groupama-FDJ, + 1:37
5. Conor Swift, Ineos Grenadiers, +1:48
6. Oliver Knight, Cofidis, + 1:58
7. Ethan Hayter, Ineos Grenadiers, +2:13
8. Finlay Pickering, Bahrain Victorious, 2:15
9. Charlie Tanfield, Saint Piran, 3:01
10. Zeb Kyffin, TdT-Unibet, +3:02