"It's not a punishment": INEOS explains Carlos Rodriguez's absence from the Tour

The absence of Carlos Rodríguez in the 2026 Tour de France was one of the major surprises in the final list of Netcompany INEOS. The Spaniard had been one of the important men of the team in the last editions of the race, but the problems he faced during his preparation ultimately led to a change of plans that Imanol Erviti has now explained in detail.

INEOS explains the surprising absence of Carlos Rodríguez in the Tour: “It’s not a punishment”

The sports director of the British team spoke about Rodríguez's situation in an interview with Daniel Miranda for the AS newspaper during the Tour de France. Erviti wanted to clarify especially that the decision to leave the Andalusian out of the race is not a punishment.

“Carlos's approach to the Tour was not as straightforward as we would have liked. In the Dauphiné (he finished 20th overall), he had a slight flu, and the team decided that he would be the reference for La Vuelta, also pending to know if Onley could make it. For the Tour, the priorities changed, but we continue to value and appreciate Carlos. We trust that he will be very well for La Vuelta,” Erviti explained to AS.

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Rodríguez had faced a good part of the season as one of the possible INEOS men to fight for the overall classification of the Tour. Fifth in 2023, in which he also achieved a stage victory, and seventh in 2024, the Spaniard had not contested the Giro d'Italia, and everything initially pointed to him returning to the French race.

The absence of Oscar Onley, fourth in the 2025 Tour and ultimately ruled out due to a shoulder injury, made the decision not to include Rodríguez among the eight riders selected to start in Barcelona even more striking.

However, INEOS opted to change its strategy and approach the race with a team less focused on the overall classification and with greater freedom to seek results in the different stages.

Erviti acknowledges that the decision also surprised him and wanted to address interpretations that pointed to some kind of punishment towards the Spanish cyclist.

“It’s not a punishment that he’s not in the Tour. People are surprised, and it’s an impact even for me, but that’s why I wanted to explain it. I’m in contact with him, and the relationship with the Tour is sometimes a love-hate one for many. It always excites you to participate in the races you watched on TV as a kid. He’s an intelligent guy, he will miss not being here, and it will give him energy for what’s to come. He will do the Tour of Austria, San Sebastián, Vuelta a Burgos before going to La Vuelta,” assured the sports director.

Thus, the Vuelta a España becomes the main objective for Carlos Rodríguez in the second half of the season, although the team is still waiting to know the evolution of Oscar Onley and his chances of making it to the Spanish round.

Before La Vuelta, Rodríguez is already competing in the Tour of Austria, and then it will be the turn of the Classic of San Sebastián and the Vuelta a Burgos as preparation.

The absence of the Spaniard in the Tour had also fueled doubts about his future within the team. Carlos Rodríguez has a contract until the end of 2027, and Erviti has assured that, as far as he knows, the British structure continues to count on the Andalusian cyclist.

“There’s no doubt about that. At least, as far as I know, there’s nothing contrary on the table,” stated the sports director.

Therefore, Carlos Rodríguez has not been left out of the Tour for disciplinary reasons nor because INEOS has stopped counting on him. According to Erviti's explanation, a preparation affected by a slight flu during the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and the team's change of objectives led to reserving the Spaniard for a second part of the season that will have the Vuelta a España as its main goal.