"I wasted my opportunity today" - Disappointment for Joshua Tarling as he misses out on Red Jersey in first ever Grand Tour stage at Vuelta a Espana

Joshua Tarling came into his first ever Grand Tour stage as one of the favourites to take the Red Jersey at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana. Sadly for the Welshman of the INEOS Grenadiers however, he had to settle for sixth on the stage.

"It was terrible. I just felt so bad really," Tarling reflects honestly in his post-stage interview with Eurosport. "Not to take away from Edoardo Affini (leader at the time ed.), it was a really good ride, but I just felt flat. I struggled in the week between the Olympics and this, and yeah, I just felt like a brick."

In the end, as mentioned, it was 6th place for Tarling on the stage with UAE Team Emirates' Brandon McNulty moving into the first Red Jersey of the Spanish Grand Tour, with the American clocking a time 8 seconds quicker than Tarling's best efforts on the day.

"I honestly don't know why I was feeling like that, I was just feeling heavy," Tarling adds. "A bit lost really. Like I said, I struggled after the Olympics, head wise and training wise and yeah, I thought I was on it and confident today, but got going and sunk a bit. I wasted my opportunity today so I think I'm going to really try and step up for the team and help whoever I need to. With this wind and stuff, I can be a help, especially tomorrow along the coast."