Ineos Grenadiers confirmed on Monday that they will head into the second week of the Tour de France with a two-pronged plan for the general classification, with Tour newcomer Carlos Rodríguez lying fourth overall and Tom Pidcock moving up to seventh after the duo’s strong rides on the Puy de Dôme stage.
So far 22-year-old Rodríguez has hit the ground running in his first Tour, despite an uneven build-up that saw him suffer a broken collarbone in March, but regain traction at the Critérium du Dauphiné.
Speaking in a rest day press conference, the Spaniard said that his lack of Tour experience meant he had had no idea pre-race how high up the GC hierarchy his condition would take him, but that the important thing was “I’m doing well and I’ll go on doing the best I can. I’m still discovering all this.”
Pidcock confirmed his interest in doing as good a GC as possible, even if that meant sacrificing the chances of a stage win like the one he took on Alpe d’Huez last summer. “My goal is to be consistent and see how far that takes me,” Pidcock said.
Rodríguez said that the current plan at Ineos Grenadiers was to keep the two of them as high on GC as possible. “Both of us are ahead, protected for the overall, and while we are responding well, it’ll go on like this. It could be good for both of us,” he said.
Born and bred in deepest southern Andalucia, Rodríguez said that the high temperatures en route to Puy de Dôme and forecast for this week at the Tour were anything but unfamiliar to him. “It’s always something to bear in mind, but I’m used to it. Hopefully, it’ll benefit me,” he said.
As compatriot Mikel Landa’s (Bahrain Victorious) GC bid fades, interest in Rodríguez’s Tour performance is currently surging in Spain, but he denied that this meant extra pressure or nothing he couldn’t handle. “The support I get is extra motivation,” he said. As for how many Wattsapp conversations he had currently had to leave unanswered amidst all the heightened attention on his Tour performance and demands on his time, he answered simply: “None.”
Strongly rumoured to be heading for Movistar in 2024 but with the transfer window still not officially ‘open’ until August 1st, Rodríguez was coy about his plans for next season, saying “the best person to ask about that is my team manager.”
Pidcock, meanwhile, was in an equally upbeat mood, saying that rather than resenting the limitations fighting for GC might imply for…
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