Pidcock talks about his strategy in the Tour and clarifies the controversy with Carlos Rodríguez: "I want to race aggressively"

The four heavyweights that Ineos Grenadiers will line up in the Tour have passed through the microphones to explain the team's plans and the role each of them will play. Carlos Rodríguez and Egan Bernal will fight for the general classification, while Tom Pidcock and Geraint Thomas will support them and seek to win stages. In addition, Rodríguez and Pidcock closed the controversy and denied any problems between them.

Tom Pidcock ends the controversy with Carlos Rodríguez and aims to hunt for a stage

Ineos Grenadiers revealed a few days ago the eight riders who will defend the team's jersey in the Tour: Egan Bernal, Jonathan Castroviejo, Laurens De Plus, Michal Kwiatkowski, Tom Pidcock, Carlos Rodríguez, Geraint Thomas, and Ben Turner. Although UAE Team Emirates or Visma-Lease a Bike are clear favorites for the yellow jersey, Ineos Grenadiers stands on its own as one of the alternatives with the most chances of success.

The team will be led by both Carlos Rodríguez and Egan Bernal who hopes to "be really competitive and someone who can make a difference." The Spaniard had a great Tour in 2023 and this season comes from winning the Tour de Romandie and finishing fourth in the Dauphiné; while the Colombian, with the credentials of having won the French round, arrives with the best form since the brutal accident of 2022.

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Tom Pidcock is another one who will step into Florence in fantastic form, as evidenced by his sixth place in the Tour of Switzerland and his incredible performance in the XCO World Cup in Crans Montana. The British rider was asked about the supposed rivalry between him and Carlos Rodríguez in the 2023 Tour, based on what was shown in the Netflix series 'Tour de France Unchained' and his alleged defiant attitude towards team orders.

The Rider was clear and stated that "they portrayed me as the bad guy" and that the documentary "just makes a drama, you know, and it's not even in chronological order." He also explained that "at first, Carlos and I were going for the general classification. Then, at one point, someone takes the lead and is the person who is leading at that moment. And that was Carlos. So it's a drama. It was probably a good episode, but I was the bad guy. It doesn't matter..."

On the other hand, Carlos Rodríguez also wanted to put an end to any controversy: "Unfortunately, they wanted to make it entertaining. Maybe they even took some things out of context to create more audience, but the relationship between Tom and me is good." In addition, he added that "I hope this year Netflix is not about us anymore."

Pidcock is clear that this year his goal is to seek some stage victories and postpone the battle for the general classification. "I want to race aggressively, try to win some stages. Initially."

The British rider explained the difficulty of fighting for the yellow jersey with the Olympics so close on the horizon -where he will compete in road and MTB-: "Maybe you could say that. With the Olympics, it's difficult. Obviously, Egan and Carlos, and Geraint even though he says he doesn't know where he is, the three of them are much more experienced riders for the GC than me. We can't go with four."

Carlos Rodríguez was cautious but stated that "the sensations in the race training are better than last year and the previous one. That's why I feel I have taken a step forward. But we will find out during the race."

On the other hand, Geraint Thomas, who for the first time in his career will compete in the Giro-Tour in the same season, stated that "I feel quite fresh mentally" and that "I am looking forward to racing with a little less pressure." Finally, Thomas declared that "we have a very strong team with a lot of experience and Carlos is clearly on the rise this season."