Josh Tarling of INEOS Grenadiers has once again demonstrated his young talent, securing his second consecutive national time-trial title at the 2024 Lloyds Bank National Road Championships in North Yorkshire. The young Welshman completed the 30km course in an impressive 39:21.50, finishing more than a minute ahead of Max Walker and Ethan Vernon, who finished with times of 40:35.37 and 40:45.70 respectively.
Tarling set the pace from the outset, covering the first lap in 19:21.42, nearly a minute ahead of Sam Watson. Despite the challenging climbs, Tarling maintained his lead to cross the finish line in his European champion stripes. Reflecting on his win, Tarling admitted, “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. I just committed and hung on. Last year, if you blew up, you could still roll fast, but on the second lap this year I was three or four km 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, but I’m excited about the rest of the season.”
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Elite women
Anna Henderson clinched the elite women’s title with a commanding performance, completing the 30km course in 46:07.02. With defending champion Lizzie Holden absent, Henderson seized the opportunity, leading at the halfway point with a time of 22:45.90. She maintained her momentum to finish 33 seconds ahead of Claire Steels, who clocked in at 46:39.92, and Elinor Barker, who took third place with a time of 47:08.71.
Overjoyed with her victory, Henderson said, “I’m over the moon! It was a really, really tough course out there today so I’m really happy that everything came together, and I can pull on the stripey jersey. It’s been a really rough few years – last year with the crash, and the year before with sickness – so this year everything came together and was perfect. It’s great to get a white jersey and I’m really excited to wear it at the Tour [de France Femmes].”
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Under-23 women
Josie Nelson dominated the under-23 women’s category, completing the course in 47:58.97, nearly two minutes ahead of defending champion Maddie Leech, who finished in 49:52.50. Flora Perkins secured third place with a time of 50:11.48, overtaking Ellie Parry on the final lap.
Nelson, elated with her victory, said, “It feels really good to take the win. Time-trialling hasn’t always been my strongest point and I’m glad to finally be improving. It was a really good course and it suited me quite a lot with it being a little bit technical and quite up and down.”
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Under-23 men
Tomos Pattinson emerged victorious in the under-23 men’s race, completing the course in 42:06.87. Pattinson, who was fifth at the halfway mark, surged ahead in the final stages, finishing 10 seconds ahead of Ben Wiggins and 17 seconds ahead of Joshua Golliker.
Pattinson reflected on his performance, saying, “It feels good, I’m really happy. I really didn’t expect the win when I came here yesterday but I thought the course suited me and I gave it a good go. I used the climb well and that’s where I put the time in. It feels good to be in the stripey jersey in really good company. I’m really looking forward to the road race and another hilly course!”
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The championships continue on Friday with circuit races in Darlington, followed by the road race championships in Saltburn on Sunday.
All photo credits: SWpix.com
