Josh Tarling stormed to a second successive victory at the British National Time Trial Championships on Wednesday afternoon.
The current reigning European champion was untouchable on the course in North Yorkshire. Tarling took the honours with a time of 39:21:50. Max Walker (Astana Qazaqstan Development Team) was second, 1:14 behind Tarling.
Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech) took third and finished 1:24 back on the Welshman.
Tarling's dominance on the course meant that he was already almost a minute clear of his rivals at the halfway time check, 15km in. His advantage only ticked upwards as the course rolled on in Catterick, and he tore around the countryside in his European champion’s jersey.
Speaking post-race, Tarling said he had felt a little on edge before taking to the course due to the Olympics gradually getting closer.
"I felt a bit nervous," he said. "There was a few guys on good form here and everything is getting closer to the Olympics now, this was one of the last chances to get another TT in, so I felt a bit stressed."
"I just committed and then tried to hang on," he added as he reflected on his performance."
"Last year, I guess if you blew up you could still roll pretty fast. But here it's long and straight, there wasn't any breathers or small corners to free wheel on, it was like one big section. So I think on the second lap I was about 3 or 4kmph slower. It was way harder."
Sam Watson (Groupama-FDJ) put in a solid ride, but missed out on a spot on the podium by 13 seconds. Behind Tarling, Ineos Grenadiers' next best-placed rider was Conor Swift who took fifth with a time of 41:09:04. Former national champion Ethan Hayter placed seventh, coming in 2:13 down.
Similarly to the elite women’s race, won by Anna Henderson, the course started and finished in the Catterick Military Centre. The 30km route involved two ascents of the Throstle Gill climb which added up to 512 metres of elevation gain in total.
Tarling was no stranger to a time trial course with a sting in its tail. The Welshman previously won a bronze medal in the time trial at the World Championships in Scotland last summer, which featured a gruelling final climb to Stirling Castle. His past form meant he was the outright favourite going into the race.
At the intermediate time check, Tarling’s time of 19:21:42 immediately set him on the path to a second national title in a row. Watson was the only man near him, but was still almost a minute back at 20:15:30.
With Tarling set to win, all the attention turned towards who would challenge for the runner up spot behind him. John Archibald was ruled out of contention after a mechanical issue with his bike forced him to withdraw.
Hayter was in contention in the early stages, recording a time of 20:15:62 at the 15km point, but faded in the second half of the race and slipped out of the top three.
Tarling kept up his monstrous pace on the second lap of the course meaning that he would eventually pass the rider who went off just before him, Charlie Tanfield (Saint Piran) which underlined his superiority.
The Welshman crossed the line with a time of 39:21:50 to wrap up a second consecutive title and held an average speed of 45.74 km/h.
Tomos Pattinson (Visma-Lease a Bike development team) won the under-23 men's title with a time of 42:06 in Catterick. He was pushed all the way by Ben Wiggins (Hagens Berman Jayco) who finished just 10 seconds back, with Joshua Golliker (Groupama-FDJ conti) a further eight seconds down.
Wiggins was quickest at the intermediate time check at 15km, but dropped off the pace as the race continued meaning he narrowly missed out on a British national champion's jersey.
Last year's winner Josh Charlton finished 11th with a time of 43:21.
Results
British National Road championships: men's elite time trial (30km)
1. Josh Tarling, Ineos Grenadiers, in 39:21
2. Max Walker, Astana Qazaqstan development team, +1:14
3. Ethan Vernon, Israel-Premier Tech, +1:24
4. Sam Watson, Groupama-FDJ, + 1:37
5. Conor Swift, Ineos Grenadiers, +1:48
6. Oliver Knight, Cofidis, + 1:58
7. Ethan Hayter, Ineos Grenadiers, +2:13
8. Finlay Pickering, Bahrain Victorious, 2:15
9. Charlie Tanfield, Saint Piran, 3:01
10. Zeb Kyffin, TdT-Unibet, +3:02
British national road championships: under-23 men's time trial
1. Tomos Pattinson, Visma-Lease a Bike development team, in 42:06
2. Ben Wiggins, Hagens Berman Jayco, +10s
3. Joshua Golliker, Groupama-FDJ Conti, +18s
4. Joshua Giddings, Lotto Dstny devlopment, +20s
5. Mattie Todd, Tirrol KTM, +25s
6. Cormac Nisbet, Soudal Quick-Step development, +30s
7. Rowan Baker, Saint Piran, +49s
8. Jamie Whitcher, BmthCycleWorks, +50s
9. Jack Brough, Aix en Provence, +53s
10. Noah Hobbs, Groupama-FDJ conti, +1:13
