By Ian Gordon
Josh Tarling blasted to victory in the time trial at the National Road Championships – then vowed to be even quicker at the Olympic Games in Paris.
The 20-year-old defended his title over the two laps of the 15km course in Catterick in North Yorkshire which included 500m of climbing.
And there was more success for Welsh cycling with Tomos Pattinson winning gold in the men’s under 23 category and Elinor Barker taking bronze in the elite women race.
Today was a good day! Josh smashed the British National Time Trial Champs to retain his British title on a tough course around Catterick.
Super proud as always . Nice shoes @joshytarling too
(Dawn puppy sitting back at Josh’s house so missed it but just as proud ) pic.twitter.com/uUT01osQCF
— Michael Tarling (@tarling_michael) June 19, 2024
“I was a bit nervous coming into it – there are a few guys on good form and everything is getting close to the Olympics and it’s a last chance to get a TT in so I was a bit stressed,” said Tarling, whose victory last year made him the youngest winner of the event.
The INEOS Grenadiers rider added: “I just committed and hung on. Last year, if you blew up, you could still roll fast, but the second lap this year I was three or four km an hour slower.
“It was way harder this year, but it’s all going well. I’m going to try and knuckle down after this and go to altitude for a few weeks. I need to sharpen up a bit, but I’m excited about the rest of the season.”
Tarling clocked 39:21.50 to finish over a minute ahead of his nearest rivals Max Walker (Astana Qazaqstan Development Team) and Ethan Vernon (Israel – Premier Tech).
As the final rider to set off, Tarling went all guns blazing on the first 15km lap to set a time of 19:21.42, just under a minute ahead of Sam Watson (GROUPAMA – FDJ).
What a day at the @BritishCycling National Championships
Josh Tarling – Men’s Elite time trial
Tomos Pattinson – U23 time trial
Elinor Barker – Women’s Elite time trialRydym yn falch o fod yn Gymry!
@swpixtweets #NatRoadChamps pic.twitter.com/IwqrNXqxRu
— Welsh Cycling (@WelshCycling) June 19, 2024
Scaling over 500m of climbing over the two laps, the Welshman continued to push on ferociously, and crossed the line in his European stripes to claim a second elite national time-trial title.
In the elite women’s category Barker (Uno-X Mobility) claimed bronze for the second year in a row.
Anna Henderson (Team Visma – Lease a Bike) took home the elite women’s victory, clocking a time of 46:07.02 in the 30km time-trial to get her first win of the year.
Barker clocked 47:08.71 as former champ Anna Henderson struck gold in 46:07.02. Claire Steels was second in 46:39.92.
Pattinson held on to take the under-23 men’s title in a hotly contested end to the day’s racing.
The 18-year-old came back from fifth place at the halfway point to take the victory in a time of 42:06.87 ahead of Ben Wiggins and Joshua Golliker.
Wiggins finished 10 seconds behind Pattinson on 42:16.62, having been the fastest rider at the halfway point, while Golliker crossed the line in third place on 42:24.22.
Dudley-born Pattinson said: “It feels good, I’m really happy. I really didn’t expect the win when I came here yesterday but I thought the course suited me and I gave it a good go.
“I used the climb well and that’s where I put the time in. It feels good to be in the stripey jersey in really
good company.
“I’m really looking forward to the road race and another hilly course!”