Joshua Tarling explains how he finished third at Vuelta just a week after brother Finlay’s death

Joshua Tarling might have preferred to stay out of the spotlight for a little longer, but after finishing third in the Stage 1 time trial at the Vuelta a España, the young Briton was required to step onto the podium to receive the white youth jersey. The Netcompany INEOS rider suddenly found himself at the centre of attention, just over a week after his younger brother Finlay Tarling died during the Tour of Portugal. Despite everything that had happened, Josh decided to take his place on the Vuelta start line.

“I’m happy with my race. I gave everything and I couldn’t have done any better. I enjoyed the technical course,” Tarling said in his post-race flash interview. The powerful time trial specialist kept his answers short and to the point, although he also understood that there were certain questions that inevitably had to be asked after such an extraordinarily difficult week. His third place came behind stage winner Tadej Pogačar and Ethan Hayter in the 9.4-kilometre Monaco time trial.

The most important question was why Tarling had decided to start the Vuelta only a week after losing his brother. “My family supported my decision, and I’m grateful to them for that. I needed it, mainly to clear my head after what happened,” he explained. Tarling had made the decision himself to return to racing, with Netcompany INEOS making clear beforehand that the team would fully support whichever choice he made.

Tarling also briefly addressed his presence at the Spanish Grand Tour after the podium ceremony, speaking in the mixed zone interview on X: “I’m happy and grateful to the team that I’m able to race here. I gave everything I had, although my legs weren’t particularly good. In the end, it was okay.”

In the mixed zone after the podium ceremony, Tarling also briefly discussed his participation in this Tour of Spain: “I’m happy and grateful to the team for giving me the chance to race here. I gave it everything I had, even though my legs weren’t feeling great. In the end, it turned out okay.”

A third-place finish under those circumstances was, in the words of Netcompany INEOS Head of Racing Geraint Thomas, “insane.” The Welshman explained that Tarling had barely been on his bike over the previous week, making the performance all the more remarkable. Thomas said it demonstrated Tarling’s quality both as an athlete and as a person, although the result itself understandably meant relatively little to the man at the centre of the story.

“It doesn’t mean that much to me, although I’m happy with it,” Tarling said. What mattered considerably more was simply being able to race his bike again and give his mind somewhere else to go after an unimaginably difficult period. “I’m happy that I could do this, after everything had mainly just been going around in my head.” For Tarling, the ride through Monaco was therefore about far more than a podium place or the white jersey.