British pair on fine form in run-up to Olympics
At just 20 years old, it looks like Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) might have the elite time trial at the British National Championships sewn up for the foreseeable future. The Welshman took his second successive victory on a sporting course in Catterick last week.
However, he admitted post-win that he was not overly confident in his effort, despite the fact he was overwhelmingly the favourite, and will be one to watch at the Paris Olympics.
“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,” he said. “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 kilometres 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.” There was over 500m of climbing on the 30km course, not the favoured terrain for Tarling, but he conquered it well, finishing over a minute in front of Max Walker (Astana Qazaqstan Development), who came second, and 1:24 over Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech).
In the under-23 race, Tomos Pattinson (Visma-Lease a Bike Development) managed to hold off a famous name chasing his first titleBen Wiggins (Hagens Berman Jayco)by 10 seconds.
More Olympic promise
Another rider targeting a medal at the Paris Olympics TT, Anna Henderson, also looked in great form.
The Visma-Lease a Bike rider took her second national title on the roads of North Yorkshire, beating Claire Steels (Movistar) by 33 seconds. Elinor Barker (Uno-X Mobility) came third, 1:02 behind Henderson.
“I’m over the m
