From Tour de France to personal tragedy - Joshua Tarling carries family name with pride for Netcompany INEOS
Cycling
Joshua Tarling honoured his late brother, Finlay, at the 2026 Vuelta a Espana. Taking to the start line just over a week after his death, the Netcompany INEOS rider put in one of the most inspirational rides of his career to come within five seconds of a remarkable stage win at the Prologue. Now, he carries his families legacy with the British team.
Finlay Tarling's tragic passing on August 14th at the Volta a Portugal shocked the cycling world. Riding with the NSN Development team, he collided with a vehicle that had entered the course and was driving in the opposite direction.
The serious incident prompted a sport-wide assessment of safety protocols, raised awareness for the measures in place, organisational shortcomings and UCI enforcement.
In the wake of the tragedy, riders took matters into their own hands with a powerful demonstration at Il Lombardia as they called for a cycling-wide intervention following further documented incidents of vehicles entering the course in subsequent races.
The Tarling family paid tribute to the cycling community for their support as they expressed their heartbreak in the aftermath. Joshua's brave Vuelta start honoured his brother and his incredible performance moved countless viewers and riders.
In the face of tragedy, we're reminded that many things are more important than the sport of cycling. Through his strength and bravery, the Welshman will carry his family's name with pride as he continues his career with Netcompany INEOS.
Joshua Tarling at the 2026 Vuelta a Espana
Joshua Tarling's impressive rise
An exceptional talent, Tarling broke into the World Tour straight from the junior ranks in 2023 and immediately put himself on the map as one of the next big time trial prospects in his first season.
A tall and powerfully built rider, Tarling is capable of turning watts other riders simply can't sustain for long periods. Those attributes make him a valuable rider on the road, too, when it comes to driving pace in the peloton or attritional classics races.
However, with a fast finish and explosive bursts often required to separate riders in the battle for stage race or one day wins, the Welshman isn't best suited for racking up road race honours. his real strength comes in the one-up races against the clock.
Racing most of the season just after turning 19, Tarling immediately made his mark, winning the British National Championships, European Championships and the Chrono des Nations - a season-ending one day race for the TT specialists.
His growth would continue in 2024 with an Olympics top ten, World Championships 4th, Vuelta a Espana podium and two victories in the discipline. Furthermore, he established himself as a future classics powerhouse with Dwars door Vlaanderan 6th place and top 20 in the Tour of Flanders - the road races that are known to best suit riders of his background.
Last year, the elusive World Tour win would quickly come at the UAE Tour while he'd continue that with a crowning Giro d'Italia time trial win on the second stage - leaving just the World Championships, as well as Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana time trials remaining on his list of marquee TT achievements.
| Race | Best Results |
| Giro d'Italia | 1st (2024, stage 2) |
| Tour de France | 2nd (2026, stage 1 TTT) |
| Vuelta a Espana | 3rd (2026, stage 1) |
| Chrono des Nations | 1st (2023, 2025) |
| European Championships ITT | 1st (2023) |
| World Championships ITT | 4th (2024) |
| WorldTour Stage Race ITT | 1st (2026, UAE Tour) |
Tour de France debut
His 2026 campaign saw him take team trial honours at Paris-Nice and close-fought podiums at the Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes and a debut Tour de France. He also rode well in the later individual time trial but finished 10th place on a hillier course not suited to him.
Eight days after Finlay's tragic passing, he honoured him by starting the Vuelta. His parents shared an Instagram post before the race that he had the full support of his family.
"He has chosen to do so in honour of his brother Fin, with the full support of his family, surrounded by a team who have been incredibly supportive of whatever decision he made," they wrote.
"I could not have wished for two boys who were closer growing up and into adulthood we have watched with pride as Joshua has been the most loving and supportive big brother to Fin. Following this devastating news he has been an incredible strength for us all.
"Finlay was so incredibly proud of his big brother, and would be watching nose to the TV and shouting as he competed. So it is right that Josh honours that love."
Tarling's incredible Vuelta ride
In a short but technical Prologue course, Tarling was in the hot seat for some time before Ethan Hayter and then Tadej Pogacar's later times saw him finish third overall. He admirably rode on for a few more stages and bowed out of the race on stage six.
With his family behind him, Tarling has a long period out of racing over winter. When it comes to the 2027 season, placing a schedule or speculating major goals isn't the most important thing.
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From the team's perspective, Filippo Ganna's departure makes Tarling their clear priority in time trials and the 22-year-old can likely choose his next steps.
The cycling world rows in behind the Tarling family and look forward to seeing Joshua once again honouring his late brother and doing his INEOS team proud in major races going forward.
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- It doesnt take a genius to understand that Pogi is 1 level above and Pogi is younger that Jonas, so Jonas will not win under ordinary circumstances. Pogi has to crack hard for Jonas to win. It doesn't matter whether you defend Jonas or not , facts remain facts. Jonas himself says his numbers are better than 2022/2023, so Jonas is more or less optimized and we are just see the stochastic variation due to other factors. I think he will retire along with Pedersen in WC denmarkabstractengineer13-11-2026
- They only raced each other during the 2026 Tour, but here's a few metrics to look at. Stage 3 (Granollers to Les Angles): Pogačar won the stage, finishing 2 seconds ahead of Vingegaard (2nd). Del Toro finished 24 seconds behind Stage 6 (Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre / Col du Tourmalet): Pogačar won solo, Vingegaard finished 2nd (losing 2:38), and Del Toro finished 3rd (at +2:57, finishing 19 seconds behind Vingegaard). Here, Jonas Vingegaard outclimbed Isaac del Toro by 19 seconds on the mountain stageawp13-11-2026
- your clinging to the past. Jonas was dropped by del toro many times last year and jonas never managed a climbing numers del toro did in dauphine last year -entire year. Trend is also evident theres no discussion your living in the past, its beent he same with jonas for many years now and only developing, meanwhile del toro is rising and developing greatly. This is all obvious stuff and im not even a del toro fan. No point discussing numbers or this i suspect you dont watch much now but rather think its 2022 still cause this aint hard.miguel13-11-2026
- We can go through metrics if you like, Del Toro, who I do admire and support, is not on the same level as Jonas just yet. You will see that in early 2027 if they have any crossover races. I do hope they both race the Giro. You are correct though, Jonas is getting older and will not be able to hand on much longer. I see 2027 as a good year for him. Obviously behind Tadej though.awp13-11-2026
- What wins? Are you LA operating under a pseudonym?mij13-11-2026
- My point is this - Tadej, Remco, Seixas are all the outliers. Many riders don’t hit their peak until 28. It’s way too early to write him off. And the pogi slo guy that hates him - he’s also immature. Ayuso needs time.mij13-11-2026
- Then you need to use ur eyes or head if you have cause del toro already dropped jonas two times and beat him in tdf stages already this year.. Del toro climbed(dauphine) better numbers than jonas did all year too. So ur feelings and wishful thinking doesnt amtter del toro himself has already surpassed jonas infact just facts. Its also very evident for anyone objective that Jonas is declining alot, its just the truth and super obvious.miguel13-11-2026
- None of those victories stand, so there's that,wrsty13-11-2026
- No surprise there; it is British Sycling, yes, with an S
Rafionain-Glas12-11-2026 - I like Del Toro but he's not on the level of Jonas, by a large margin.awp12-11-2026
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