"It hurts when I breathe" - Joshua Tarling refuses to abandon his debut Tour despite a cracked rib
CyclingWednesday, 15 July 2026 at 09:00
Joshua Tarling is riding through his first Tour de France, but it's not the experience he must've imagined. Coming back from a miraculous recovery following his Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, the 22-year-old Brit was counting days and hours to be (somewhat) ready for the Grand Départ.
And while his broken collarbone managed to heal up just in time, the Netcompany INEOS riders is riding hardly in comfort. Primarily because of a cracked rib - a side injury suffered in the same crash three weeks before Grande Boucle.
"I had a rough start, but it’s coming," Tarling told Cycling Weekly of his form ahead of the first rest day. "You just have like a rev limiter, you know? I get to the point where I get out of breath, and then I can’t get it back."
The injury is definitely holding Tarling back at times: "It hurts when I breathe," Tarling said. And then there's the extreme heat which does not add to the Brit's comfort in the slightest. "With the heat as well, obviously you’re breathing harder and the pain’s catching up. It just feels airless."
Read also
You don't abandon Tour like that
But regardless of the short-comings, Tarling is trying to enjoy his debut Tour to the fullest. He's already fulfilled his role during the opening team time trial where he assisted Filippo Ganna to a second place.
The atmosphere has been phenomenal according to the 22-year-old: "I’ve never been in a race where there’s constant crowds," Tarling said. "Here it’s just all day crowds. It’s crazy."
Now the focus is mainly on survival within the gruppetto until the stage 16 individual time trial. It's hardly one to Tarling's taste due to the 9.6-kilometer 4.2% climb in the first half, but on a good day, Tarling could still aim quite high with his result. And then there is still plenty room in the time trial's flat second part to make up for the time loss.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- No one is asking vou anything!!!mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales15-07-2026
- The writer saying there's no clear evidence is like saying there is evidence but it's not clear. A very underhanded way of accusing him of doping. Shameful...Santiago15-07-2026
- Hard to make sense of this kind of behavior from fans. Imagine Usain Bolt getting boos instead of applause after another record-breaking run, or Roger Federer winning Wimbledon for the nth time, or Messi winning the Bol'D Or n consecutive times, and fans greeting their achievements with boos instead of cheers. Is this the Lance Armstrong Effect, or the Paul Seixas Effect? When Steffi Graf was dominating women's tennis, then Monica Seles came along and broke her dominance, a crazed German fan jumped the barriers and stabbed her in the back, effectively ending her outstanding career. These athletes are outstanding specimens of mankind, they perform heroic deeds for our viewing delight. But stupidity lurks everywhere, and sports rely on spectators for patronage, so you learn to take the good with the bad. Such a shame.FredMan15-07-2026
- Fair call. It can't be fun getting labelled the Biggest Runner-Up Washed Loser because you're up against a freak of nature every July, when you've won every Grand Tour and the biggest one twice, and probably plan to do all the one week races and apart from one Slovenian you generally destroy the field in GC/stage races.wrsty15-07-2026
- Yeah but, Lipopoel, Del Poggo, Skelayuso? Would be so much more interesting if the actors were redistributed and had to show their worth instead of dezling with family feuds (and trust me, no matter how cosy, when it comes to inheritance, it won’t be). It’s almost as if the powers that be want it this way for spectacle and headlineability.Mistermaumau15-07-2026
- Jorgensen is often meant to be a satellite rider for Jonas, so a dangerous rider to let up the road. Seems to be some bad blood there too, though.Hills3315-07-2026
- Mmm I think he has a grudge against Jorgensen . I have noticed he was never allowed up road what do ever even though he was so far down on GC. Pog is paid to win by his team and unless i am missing the body language they are always laughing and talking. Maybe Pog is the silent assassin lolpaultryan200215-07-2026
- From what he said after Stage 10, Gianetti was mad at him when he couldn't beat Jonas last time on this parcours, so he had to win now. He started looking over his shoulder while still racing down that tricky descent, and kept doing it right to the end, when he had nothing left in his legs. Meantime, Del Toro cracked, and McNulty faded completely. Again, I'm getting this strange feeling that people are watching different races.Hills3315-07-2026
- Isn't it more interesting to watch perfection in action...Pogi-Baby Hulk for the wins... or Baudin's victory against Gaudu and Romo? I just hate those who pray to be given victories. I would kick them out of the sport. And by the way... can someone remind me who said before the Tour: "Only now, after 2 years, does it feel like the old Jonas is back, I'm even stronger now than in 2023. I think I can beat Pogačar again, I've never felt better on a bike, I'm powerful."mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales15-07-2026
- As much as his physiology seems to be unique, at this point if this guy/team get's outed for doing the bad thing - you may as well knock pro-cycling on the head cuz it'll never come back from another scandal of this (hypothetical) magnitude. But it's lucky that big teams are backed by honest transparent organizations like the UAE, otherwise it'd all seem a bit too good to be true.wrsty15-07-2026
Loading
Write a comment