"Hopefully it's not just TTs, I like to do Classics and one-week tours" - Joshua Tarling hoping to develop into more than just an ITT specialist

One of the breakthrough stars of the 2023 campaign, 19-year-old Joshua Tarling is already regarded as one of the expert time-trialists in the World Tour peloton. Going forward however, the Welshman is keen to develop more than just a specialist against the clock.

"I'd always want to be good at TTs and try and win them," the INEOS Grenadiers star tells GCN. "But hopefully it's not just TTs, I like to do Classics and one-week tours. I think we have a little bit of room with the weight and training that we can give different things a go hopefully."

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"I think my weight can come down. I leaned out a bit before Worlds and Euros, but I think there’s a bit of room to see if climbing can be an option, in things like the one-week stage races," Tarling continues with his reported weight being 78kg. "Because I'm quite young as well, there's a bit of puppy fat there as well. So I'll get rid of that hopefully."

It's not just in the Classics and stage races that Tarling wants to improve either. The Welshman is also looking towards an Olympic appearance on the track. "I used to love it, I used to do it all the time," Tarling says of track cycling. "It was nice to go back and I think it really worked because I did it before Tour de Wallonie and then in Wallonie, I did my best result with second on GC."

Could we see Tarling make his Grand Tour bow in 2024 also? "Yeah, for sure I'd really like to do one," he admits. "It depends though, because the first half of the season is the Classics and Olympics. Then, after that, we will see. Hopefully, if I’m in good enough form for the Olympics, I should be good enough to do a Grand Tour."

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