Israel – Premier Tech Academy will be bolstered by the arrival of Finlay Tarling on a two-year deal for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
The 17-year-old Welsh rider has already enjoyed success on the track and against the clock, including second place at the 2023 Junior Chrono des Nations where he missed out on the win by just one second and now, Tarling is making the first important step in his road racing career.
“The thing that drew me to IPT the most was that the team came with a real plan and will help me work across all the development areas over the coming seasons,” explains Tarling. “Also, the family feel to the team and how open the team is to any support that is needed. I feel like there are the right opportunities and processes in place to give me the perfect stepping stones to progress into hopefully a long career.”
IPT Academy Manager Tim Elverson has long had his eye on Tarling and believes the IPT Academy will lay an excellent foundation for his development.
“I’ve had a good relationship with the Welsh Academy and therefore always watched their riders,” says Elverson. “Fin was flagged to me as a first year junior and I’ve kept an eye on him since. While his obvious strength makes him a TT specialist, with some work within the IPT Academy structure, around process and delivery of a race, I believe Fin will be stretching his legs in tough classic-type races in the future and will become a very important team member. IPT is taking some big steps in time trialling as well, so Fin can help spearhead that as the growth continues.”
Away from the track and time trialling, Tarling has already had a first taste of the cobbled classics having been selected in the Great Britain team for this year’s Paris – Roubaix Juniors, the kind of races he is itching to get stuck into.
“My hopes for the first year with the team is take every opportunity to really develop as a rider and gain as much experience as possible. Obviously, it would be great if it came with some results, but if not, to take all knowledge I’ve gained into the second year. I think as it’s my first year the races that I could best fit into would be the classic-type races as they are the type of races where you can learn the most in terms of positioning and choosing when to make race-winning moves.
“I also think with TT background that I have that it could be used for shorter stage races with TTs to carry a possible GC contention. I’m really looking forward to working with a world-class setup and support to hopefully get the best out of myself.”
For IPT owner Sylvan Adams, Tarling’s signing is a validation of the team’s recruitment program and structure, which has proven to be a successful stepping stone to the pro ranks for many riders.
“I’m very excited about our signing of Fin Tarling to our U23 Conti Team,” adds Adams. “Everyone knows what a strong rider his older brother Josh is, and talent clearly runs in the family. So, Fin’s confidence in joining our program is truly validation of our system. In the last three years, we’ve promoted eight development riders to our senior team. This should be a signal to all aspiring professionals that we can offer them a path to the WorldTour. Welcome, Fin, to our Israel – Premier Tech Academy development team. All of us believe that you have a bright future.”
