'I just let myself down' - Josh Tarling gutted after missing World Championships time trial podium

20-year-old says he 'never got going' in fourth-place finish

Josh Tarling at the World Championships in Zurich
(Image credit: Alex Whitehead/SWpix)

“Not good, mate,” was Josh Tarling's assessment of his effort in the time trial at the UCI Road World Championships on Sunday afternoon.

A bronze medallist last year, the Brit finished 23 seconds short of the podium in Zurich, Switzerland, where Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) soared to victory to defend his world title

As he walked through the media zone afterwards, the 20-year-old cut a downbeat figure. “I never got going,” he said. “I conserved and then never emptied, and then I was empty, if you get me? It never came to me.” 

“I’m not where I want to be. I just had a rough time,” Tarling said. "I cracked after the Olympics and then had a bad Vuelta [a España], and just messed up. It didn't go well. 

“I just feel bad for everyone that put more in than me, in terms of the bike and the equipment and BC [British Cycling] with all the help. I just let myself down with the training. I basically felt sorry for myself and let some people down."

The young time trialist, perhaps overly critical of himself, was still stronger than a lot of the WorldTour’s most powerful specialists. Even on a self-professed bad day, Tarling clocked an average speed of almost 51km/h at the finish line, faster than former world champion Tobias Foss (Norway), and 2021 Olympic gold medallist Primož Roglič (Slovenia), among the 59 starters. 

His next competition will be the six-stage Cro Race in Croatia with Ineos Grenadiers next month. “I’m going to try and get it going again for some of the guys in the rest of the season, but we’ll see,” he said in Zurich, adding with an eye on next year’s World Championships: “Onto [20]25, eh?”

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Tom Davidson
Senior News and Features Writer

Tom joined Cycling Weekly as a news and features writer in the summer of 2022, having previously contributed as a freelancer. He is fluent in French and Spanish, and holds a master's degree in International Journalism. Since 2020, he has been the host of The TT Podcast, offering race analysis and rider interviews.

An enthusiastic cyclist himself, Tom likes it most when the road goes uphill, and actively seeks out double-figure gradients on his rides. His best result is 28th in a hill-climb competition, albeit out of 40 entrants.