Ben Turner delighted by rapid progress as he takes on Vuelta a Espana with Ineos Grenadiers

He was speaking via a Zoom call from Arkansas ahead of the UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships, a race in which the field was obliterated by his room-mate that week, Tom Pidcock, his fellow Yorkshireman.

Pidcock – a cocksure cycling phenomenon – backed up that title and his Olympic mountain bike gold medal from 2021 with another blistering ride in the Tour de France, when his descending of alpine mountains lef the cycling world gasping and earned him a stage win.

Turner was yet to spin a wheel in anger for Ineos back in January, but the fact that he recently crossed the start line of the three-week Vuelta a Espana, he can consider himself well on the way to establishing himself.

“It’ll be really good, my first grand tour is exciting and a special moment,” says the 23-year-old who grew up on the mountain bike and cross-country trails around his home and cycled on the roads for Doncaster Wheelers.

“It’s a real positive for me to be doing this, it’ll bring the level on for me for next year.”

Selection as part of the eight-man team for the final grand tour of the year was late in coming.

Turner had just finished fourth in the British road race championships, and then seventh in the road race at the recent Commonwealth Games, when his selection was confirmed.

A year ago he wasn’t even riding at World Tour level.

“The Vuelta wasn’t the aim, we didn’t even start talking about it until very recently so it was a bit of a last-minute thing,” continues Turner, who had a good Spring Classics campaign headlined by an 11th-place at the gruelling Paris-Roubaix.

“It’s nice they’ve believed in me at Ineos to select me for a big grand tour, that’s a big achievement

“The year has gone super well. At the beginning of the year the Classics went really well, I’ve been happy with the level I’ve been on this year and if you’d have said to me you’d be at this level this time last year I’d have snapped your hands off.

“So I’m happy to be where I am. When I look at it, I suppose I am ahead of schedule.

“Those cyclo-cross world championships feel like a long time ago, which I suppose is a good sign.

“It’s been a crazy year, really good, and when I look back I’m very happy with where I’m at, especially doing the Vuelta.”

Pidcock made his grand tour debut at the Vuelta last year in the weeks after winning his Olympic mountain bike title.

His express aim then was to gain as much experience at that level as possible, something Turner will be doing over the next three weeks.

“I’m here to learn for the future,” says Turner of a race that began in Utrecht with the team time-trial, continues on the flat roads of the Netherlands before heading to a more mountainous route in Spain.

“I’m on a massive team that’s here to win the race as a team and also with one of our leaders. My role will be to support them in making their life as easy as possible and hopefully in doing that we can win the race.”

Former Grand Tour champions Richard Carapaz (Giro d’Italia 2019) and Tao Geoghegan Hart (Giro 2020) lead the Ineos challenge for the red jersey.

“It’s a massive team with a great history of winning grand tours,” says Turner, who knows he will have plenty of shifts on the front of the peloton helping Ineos control the race.

“For that alone you’re always expected to do well, there’s so much learning for me to gain from the riders, the team, everything.

“With so much expectation they’re going to make it nice and difficult for me.”

Can we expect Pidcock-esque bravado from the latest Yorkshire rider to take his place on a grand tour startline?

“Tom is phenomenal, nothing is too surprising with him any more,” says his good friend Turner.

“It’s crazy how he does it, the talent he has is phenomonal.

“My role in the team isn’t to do what he did, I’ll be more of a team support role in this race so whether we have that opportunity or not I’m really not sure.

“If you get that opportunity you’ve got to try and take it.

“Anything’s possible in a bike race, my shape’s good, I feel really good, so you never know.”

People would certainly know the name Ben Turner then.