Tarling's Tour de France comeback is perfectly timed for INEOS' stage 1 ambitions: 'Back to full strength right away'

Netcompany INEOS may well be the clear favorite to win Saturday’s team time trial stage of the Tour de France. The team has brought an exceptionally strong time trial lineup, and Josh Tarling is part of it. This is despite the fact that the Welshman recently crashed hard. He has made a remarkably quick comeback, in time to lend his mega watts to the INEOS effort.

Let’s go back to Friday, June 12, when Tarling crashed hard during Stage 6 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The 22-year-old rider broke his collarbone in the crash, which suddenly put his selection for the Tour de France in jeopardy. Nothing could be further from the truth, however, as his team, Netcompany INEOS, has selected him after all.

In fact: “I’m back to my old self,” Cyclingnews reported on Wednesday during a press conference. How was the recovery? “To be honest, pretty good. I went straight to Germany to get it fixed, so it was back to full strength right away. Then I was able to return to training camp with everyone else.”

First came a few days on the stationary bike. “But yeah, I’m actually back to my old self. Maybe a little less on the time trial bike than I normally would be, but to be honest, it’s all gone pretty smoothly—the physical therapy and all that,” said a very relaxed Tarling.

And so, just 22 days after his hard crash, he’ll be at the start of the Tour de France. “I’m really happy and looking forward to it. We have a strong team, so I’m very excited about the lineup we have for the time trials and stages. We’re going to ride a good Tour together,” he said about his selection on his team’s website.

Starting with the team time trial on Saturday. With Filippo Ganna, Tobias Foss, and Kévin Vauquelin, the team has even more outstanding time trialists on board. Riders like Thymen Arensman and Egan Bernal might then be able to sprint for the first yellow jersey on the final climb. On paper, at least, Netcompany INEOS appears to be the clear favorite for the stage win.