Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) took his first victory in a Grand Tour when he finished one second quicker than Primož Roglič (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) in the Tirana time trial on day two of the Giro d'Italia. The British time trial champion covered the 13.7km course in a time of 16:07, then had to watch as the race's big names attempted to better his mark.
Roglič came the closest of them. Five seconds quicker than the 21-year-old Welshman at the intermediate split at the top of the mid-course climb to Sauk, the 2023 Giro champion maintained a strong tempo all the way to the line, but didn't have quite enough speed to deny Tarling victory.
There was ample compensation for the 35-year-old Red Bull leader, though, as he moved into the race leader's jersey, one second ahead of stage one victor Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek).
“I can’t believe it, I’m so happy,” Tarling said after his success had been confirmed. “The wait wasn’t nice. I don’t want to do it again. It was a long day for 13km. I was afraid of all of the favourites – Wout, Mads and Primož really scared me. It was a stressful day.”
Tarling said the key to his success was the way he tackled the final part of the course after the climb to Sauk. “We did the first part smoothly and in control, with the climb nice and hard. The last section was harder than we thought in the recon ride, so I made sure to really hurt there,” he said.
The day had started with another Briton in the hot seat as the fastest finisher. Fourth of the 181 riders to start, Ethan Hayter (Soudal-Quick-Step) recorded a time of 16:21 that made him the first rider to average above 50km/h for the 13.7km course. The Briton’s spell in the hot seat was brief, however, as Jan Tratnik (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) shaved two seconds off that time.
Tratnik’s stint as leader ended when Visma-Lease a Bike’s Edoardo Affini crossed the line six seconds quicker than the Slovenian, the Italian then ceding top spot when Jay Vine (UAE Emirates-XRG) came through three seconds quicker in 16:10.
Vine then saw Tarling overturn a mid-TT deficit of three seconds at the top of the Sauk climb into an advantage of three on the flat section into finish. After much-fancied UAE trio Juan Ayuso, Brandon McNulty and Isaac Del Toro all finished outside Tarling’s mark, Lidl-Trek’s Mathias Vacek was the next to threaten the Briton’s best time.
Quickest at the Sauk intermediate split, five seconds faster than Tarling, the young Czech lost his chance on the tough run-in, where he was 11 seconds slower than the Ineos rider. Soon after, Primož Roglič equalled Vacek’s fastest split at Sauk, but didn’t yield to the same extent as the Lidl-Trek man.
The 2023 champion maintained a quick tempo all the way to the line, but not quite quick enough. He missed Tarling’s mark by a second, leaving the Ineos Grenadier sighing with relief and smiling in the hot seat.
When race leader Pedersen got under way, he knew that he had a 10-second buffer on Roglič. Topping the Sauk climb, the pair were level pegging. They still were as Pedersen came into the final straight.
The Dane sprinted with all he had left. However, like Roglič in his duel with Tarling, he didn’t have quite enough to hold on and it was the Red Bull leader who pulled on the maglia rosa, his advantage, like Tarling's, just a single second.
RESULTS
GIRO D'ITALIA 2025 STAGE TWO: TIRANA > TIRANA (13.7KM INDIVIDUAL TIME TRIAL)
1. Josh Tarling (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, in 16:07
2. Primož Roglič (Slo) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, +1s
3. Jay Vine (Aus) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +3s
4. Edoardo Affini (Ita) Visma-Lease a Bike, +6s
5. Mathias Vacek (Cze) Lidl-Trek, at same time
6. Daan Hoole (Ned) Lidl-Trek, +8s
7. Mads Pedersen (Den) Lidl-Trek, +12s
8. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +13s
9. Ethan Hayter (GBr) Soudal-Quick-Step, +14s
10. Juan Ayuso (Spa) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +17s
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE TWO
1. Primož Roglič (Slo) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, in 3:52:32
2. Mads Pedersen (Den) Lidl-Trek, +1s
3. Mathias Vacek (Cze) Lidl-Trek, +5s
4. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +12s
5. Juan Ayuso (Spa) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +16s
6. Isaac Del Toro (Mex) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +17s
7. Max Poole (GBr) Picnic PostNL, +24s
8. Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Bahrain-Victorious, +25s
9. Michael Storer (Aus) Tudor Pro Cycling Team, +27s
10. Guido Pellizzari (Ita) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, +31s
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