Joshua Tarling to race Vuelta days after brother Finlay’s death as Onley leads Netcompany-Ineos

Tarling will take his place on the start line in Monaco on Saturday, just over a week after the tragic death of his younger brother Finlay in Portugal. The 19-year-old, himself a professional cyclist, died following a collision with a van during the Volta a Portugal.

The circumstances had understandably left Tarling's participation in the Vuelta uncertain. His family spoke publicly about Finlay's death earlier this week, describing the period since the accident as the hardest days of their lives.

Netcompany-Ineos have now confirmed that the 22-year-old will race in Spain with the full backing of the team.

“It also goes without saying that, as a Team, we all fully support Josh in his decision to take part in the race,” director of racing Geraint Thomas said when announcing the squad on Thursday.

Tarling returns to the Vuelta after making his debut in 2024 and arrives having completed his first Tour de France in July. One of the strongest time trial specialists in the peloton, the former European champion gives Netcompany-Ineos an obvious option against the clock while also adding considerable strength to the team around Onley.

Onley will lead the Netcompany-Ineos line up that also includes Carlos Rodríguez, Jack Haig, Lucas Hamilton, Axel Laurance, Embret Svestad Bårdseng and Ben Turner.

The Vuelta will be the 23-year-old Scot’s first Grand Tour with the team. He had originally been set to lead Netcompany-Ineos at the Tour de France, but a heavy crash at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ruled him out of July’s race.

Onley returned to competition in encouraging form at the Vuelta a Burgos, where he won a stage and finished second overall.

“This is Oscar's first Grand Tour riding for us and he is ambitious, excited and wants to get racing,” Thomas said. “He has had some setbacks this season, but his win in Burgos showed that he has recovered well and has good legs.

“We know what he is capable of so we are giving him the freedom to just go and race, and enjoy it.”

Onley is looking forward to testing himself over three weeks.

“We’ve got a good mix of riders giving us a lot of opportunities throughout the race,” he said. “Personally I’m feeling really good just now and looking forward to testing myself in the coming weeks.”

Carlos Rodríguez gives Netcompany-Ineos another option for the general classification, with the 25-year-old Spaniard set to play an important role in the mountains.

“La Vuelta is a big opportunity for us to finish the Grand Tour season strongly,” Thomas said. “I’m confident in the team we’re taking and their ability to adapt to whatever the race throws at us over the next three weeks.

“It’ll be a tough race, because La Vuelta always is, but the team is united and looking forward to taking it on.”

That strong finish would be particularly welcome after a subdued Tour de France, where Netcompany-Ineos left without an individual stage win, and Egan Bernal was their highest finisher in 20th overall.

With Onley now back and showing form again after his injury setback, the Vuelta offers the team a chance to give its Grand Tour season a different ending and, perhaps more importantly, show some momentum heading towards 2027.