Joshua Tarling about his Paris-Roubaix debut: "Luke said that a guy always crashes on this corner, and then it was us two"

Joshua Tarling was arguably the revelantion of 2023, even if some experts predicted big future for the British time trial machine. Talking to Rouleur, the European ITT champion reviewed the ups and downs of his professional debut and talked about his encounter with some of the world's best riders.

"I wanted to do everything and they let me do loads of big races, but also they took me to some horrible races like Renewi Tour and Wallonie where it’s Belgian crosswinds and you have to learn a lot," Tarling says. "They were good at looking after me. I crashed in Renewi and I really wanted to do the Tour of Britain after but it was the Euros TT soon after that, so they made me stay at home so I could recover and then train full for the TT, which was the right idea."

Tarling also crashed at the Paris-Roubaix. "What was funny is that when we recon’d it, Luke said that a guy always crashes on this corner, and then it was us two. I didn’t mean to," Tarling reflects. "I still finished because Roubaix is point to point, so I’d rather say I finished it, that’s just cool. Even the commentators are famous there, I got interviewed by Gilbert at the end who has won it before."

"Wout is super cool. On the podium we were just talking about his baby. He’s super nice and before the Euros he called me 'a machine' or something in an interview. The morning of the Euros I read that Wout thought I was cool," Tarling smiles. "Remco is a bit quieter. He’s scary, isn’t he? He’s Remco."