Carlos Rodríguez gives the first warning ahead of the next Tour

With the certification of his victory in the Tour de Romandie, Carlos Rodríguez not only achieves his first overall victory in a stage race, but also does so in a World Tour category and against a lineup of very high-level competitors. A victory that makes us dream that the rider from Granada may deliver a great performance in his next major goal: the Tour de France.

First stage race victory for Carlos Rodríguez with the win in the Tour de Romandie

The Tour de Romandie has been one of the most spectacular races in this first part of the season in recent years. It brings together those who are finalizing their preparation for the Giro d'Italia with the Tour de France teams that compete here in their last race of the first part of the season before taking a short break and facing, throughout May and June, the specific preparation for the French tour, which usually includes a high-altitude training camp.

Carlos Rodríguez had already shown signs of his good form despite a lackluster start to the season in O Gran Camiño and Paris-Nice. However, in Itzulia, he was one of the survivors of the crash that marked the race, and in the final stages, he emerged as a protagonist to finish in second place on the podium behind the great Juan Ayuso.

In the Tour de Romandie, roles were reversed and in the penultimate stage, the most decisive one of the Swiss race, it was Carlos Rodríguez who launched the attack to take the yellow leader's jersey from Ayuso.

A victory that, in his own words, gives Carlos Rodríguez a lot of confidence for the upcoming goals of the season, namely the Tour de France, where the INEOS Grenadiers cyclist will try to improve on his great performance from last year. Before the Grande Boucle, Rodríguez will only compete in the Critérium du Dauphiné where, obviously, he will also try to be a protagonist.

It remains to be seen how INEOS Grenadiers will approach the Tour de France in a team where leadership is not yet defined. Initially, Geraint Thomas could double his participation with the Giro. We also have Tom Pidcock, in case he finally races the French event, who will have his sights set more on the XCO event at the Olympic Games than on working for the team. And then there's Egan Bernal, who continues to grow and gradually reminds us of the cyclist who amazed us with his victory in the Tour in 2019.

In any case, Carlos Rodríguez is already confirming that he is the cyclist we all expected and is taking steps towards reaching the level that will allow him to face a grand tour with the clear goal of victory, allowing Spanish cycling to dream of reliving past glories.