Joshua Tarling is only 21, but today he won the time trial at the Giro d'Italia, confirming his class in this specialty. "It's a special emotion for me: this is my first stage win in a grand tour and it's definitely the most beautiful victory of my career". Moreover, it's an epochal victory because Tarling is the youngest time trial winner in Giro d'Italia history.

The British rider races with Ineos – Grenadiers and is a time trial specialist: at the 2023 World Championships, he finished third behind Filippo Ganna and Remco Evenepoel, who won gold. "This is the first time trial of the Giro, so it was very difficult to win, this was a goal after the Classics and I'm happy to have achieved it. I wanted to go fast in this race and perhaps it was also a bit complicated to adapt from Classics preparation to Giro preparation, but today's result shows that we were right."

Tarling sat for a long time on the hot seat after setting the best time: when Roglic started his attempt, the British rider was very nervous and didn't know if the victory would ultimately be his. "It was very stressful watching Roglic race, he gained a lot on the climb and I was very nervous at the end, it would have been a shame if he had beaten me because I had been on the hot seat for so long and hoped until the very last moment. The course could present some risks, but as I always say: if you're afraid, don't take risks, it's not mandatory. We knew about the road conditions, we all did a careful reconnaissance beforehand."

2024 was not the year Tarling had imagined and the results were below what he had set for himself. The new year started well and today's victory is certainly an important stimulus to do well in the coming days.

"I think I took the right risks to win. Last year I finished the season a bit under par. This year we knew we had to change the pace a bit and we did. We started the season very well and we also started the Giro in the best possible way."