Two weeks after the death of his younger brother, Josh Tarling abandons the Vuelta a España

Josh Tarling withdrew during the sixth stage of the Vuelta a España. The young British rider from Netcompany INEOS is calling it quits after five stages. The 22-year-old time trialist had previously finished third in the opening time trial in Monaco, just over a week after the death of his younger brother, Finlay Tarling.

Tarling had a rather difficult year and had yet to claim a victory in 2025. Among other results, he finished second in the time trial at the UAE Tour, behind world champion Remco Evenepoel. The spring classics were a struggle, but he was set to ride the Vuelta with a good chance of winning the red jersey. The opening time trial suited him well, and a victory was definitely within reach.

But just before the Vuelta, the worst possible thing happened. Finlay Tarling, Josh’s younger brother by three years, was riding for the NSN Academy Team in the Tour of Portugal. He had posted respectable results in the time trials but was struggling on the eighth stage. He was riding at the back of the pack and trying to catch up. At that moment, a car pulled onto the road.

The driver of the vehicle thought everyone had passed, but Tarling was still on his way. On a downhill stretch, he crashed into the car and died from his injuries. It was a huge blow to the cycling world to lose such a young rider, but for the Tarling family, it was, of course, the hardest to bear. And to make matters worse, Grandpa Tarling also passed away that same month.

But Josh was determined to race in the Vuelta at all costs. He was eager to win the opening stage for his little brother and claim the red jersey. He gave it his all, but fell just short. Tadej Pogačar was four seconds faster, and Ethan Hayter also finished ahead of his compatriot. Tarling took third place, which meant he would start stage two in the white youth jersey.

Over the next few days, the British rider rode anonymously. He did the work for his teammates, but didn’t post any results of his own. After finishing in the last group in Stage 5, nearly 11 minutes behind winner Matthew Brennan, Tarling threw in the towel one hour into Stage 6. The time trial in Stage 18 has thus lost one of its top favorites.

We wish Josh all the best at this difficult time.