Josh Tarling is only 20 years old and making his Paris Olympics debut, but the purity of his youth and his incredible talent in time trials make him one of the favorites to win Saturday's 32.4km race.

Tarling is no stranger to publicly stating that he is aiming for the gold medal. As he runs the time trial at 55 km/h, the pressure and expectations seem to slide off his back like a smooth stream of air.

“I want to win,” Turling replied when asked about his Olympic goals in a video call with several media outlets, including Cycling News, on Thursday, 24 hours after his final reconnaissance of the flat, fast urban course.

“I think the time trial will be determined by how hard I can ride. Of course I want to win, though.”

“I don't have any expectations because I can't control it. As long as I know I've done everything I can on my side, as long as I'm happy with my run, I'm happy.”

In 2023, Tarling won the European time trial title and a bronze medal at the World Championships behind Lemko Evenpoel and Filippo Ganna.

Ganna, a teammate of Ineos Grenadiers, sees Tarling as a threat and is upset that Team GB used his coach and time trial expert Dario Cioni for Saturday's race.

Even the bookmakers have Tarling as a strong contender, but he has his feet on the ground.

“Ganna, Remco Evenpole, and Wout Van Art have all done much better than me. My name is flying under the radar in a way, and that's a very good thing,” he said.

In an interview with Cycling Weekly, Tarling and his father, Michael, recalled stopping at McDonald's on their way home from the club's midweek 10-mile time trial.

“If it hadn't been for that, I might have lost a little more weight,” Tarling joked about the fast food reward for his fast time trail.

He already knows there is a French McDonald's near Team GB's quarters on the outskirts of Paris, but after weeks of disciplined training, he was eager for another reward.

“I haven't had chocolate for a long time. I wouldn't call it a meal, but I'd love a Lindor red chocolate ball,” he admitted.

Turling has moved from South Wales to Andorra in the Pyrenees since turning pro in 2023. While Evenpole and others were racing the Tour de France, he trained at high altitude, specializing in time trials, and then held a special training camp.

The magnitude and importance of the Olympics was first realized when he arrived in Paris before Wednesday's recon ride.

“When the whole hotel is GB-defined, it will feel even bigger,” he said.

“We've put more into it and done more specific things, things towards it, but I have to deal with races like that.

Tarling ran the 32.4-km time trial course three times on Wednesday afternoon, returning to run the major corners at race speed. He also studied the roads at 5:00 AM in June to avoid traffic jams.

“I don't like it, but I don't hate it. I think for the course to be really perfect for me, it would have to be twisty, but there's nothing I don't like about it.”

“The start and finish are pretty bumpy and there's a lot of resurfacing, so there are some holes, but it'll be fun.

While the course is geared toward strong time triallists like Tarling and Ganna, it does not exclude aerodynamically efficient riders like Evenpoel.

“It's a course that requires absolute watts. Lemko is clearly better than me and Ganna on hilly courses, but I don't think he's at a disadvantage on flat courses. Obviously, the faster you go, the bigger the aero difference.

Tarling watched as VanArt tested front disc brakes for the time trial.

“Good luck to him. ......” . Tarling said respectfully.

“If he thinks it has merit, that's smart. If he tested it, go for it. The first and last five kilometers are bumpy and tough on disc wheels. I haven't ridden it out there, but I'm sure the corners won't be great on disc wheels either. The corners are fast and you have to make the most of them.”

Tarling has worked to achieve a more aerodynamic bike position while maintaining power and a relatively comfortable ride. He wears a new skinsuit developed specifically for the Olympic time trial, but otherwise “we haven't done anything too crazy.”

Both the men's and women's time trials are expected to be decided by a few seconds or less. A simple mistake in a corner, hitting a pothole, or even a momentary loss of speed could make the difference between gold, silver, bronze, or even zero.

Tarring won the first medal for Great Britain on Saturday, and many in the UK could be in for another gold rush, as they were at London 2012, when Great Britain won 29 gold medals, for a total of 65 medals.

In 2012, Bradley Wiggins won the time trial just days after winning the Tour de France. He posed on the throne at the medal ceremony, further cementing his status as a national hero at the time.

“I love the throne, Tarling jokingly said. I didn't think I ...... But I thought it was really, really weird.”

“The first time I saw the Olympics was in London 2012. I went to watch the road race in the rain. Since then, my competitions have gone by so fast, but I think I'm ready.”

For Tarling, the Olympic time trial is like many of the time trials in Britain when she was a teenager, only with rewards bigger than a McDonald's hamburger.

“It would be great to win Britain's first gold medal. That's definitely a goal. It's a bit of a dream.