Who is Carlos Rodriguez and how he has come to fight for the Tour podium

Carlos Rodríguez is the revelation of the Tour de France and one of the cyclists called to dominate the Spanish and international scene during the next decade. The Spaniard is aiming for the podium in Paris to seal his first participation in the French round with a perfect finish. The career, short but successful, began to take shape at a very young age. Now, INEOS and Movistar are fighting to take one of the pearls of the peloton to their team.

Who is Carlos Rodriguez? This is the cyclist who amazes the Tour

In recent years, cycling has received a breath of fresh air with the arrival of young and talented riders. A constant trickle of promising riders who have quickly established themselves as the new references of the sport. One of the latest to join this select club is Carlos Rodríguez, who with his performance in the Tour —including a sensational victory in Morzine— is attracting the attention of half the world.

Carlos Rodríguez was born in Almuñécar -a coastal town in the province of Granada- on February 2, 2001. He is currently ranked 58th in the UCI ranking, has been an INEOS rider for four years and is studying a double degree in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Malaga. 22 years old, 1.83 meters and 67 kilos.

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Good student, quiet, hard worker, two collarbone fractures, huge talent, complete cyclist, trains frequently on the Costa del Sol, youngest Spanish stage winner of the Tour in history.

The Granada-born rider's origins on the pedals go back to BMX, a discipline in which he participated from the age of 7 to 14 and from which he derives his ability in descents. Although he excelled in BMX —he was part of the Spanish national team— he also had good skills on the road. So there came a time when he had to choose, and he opted for the asphalt.

He took his first steps on the road as a cadet in a team from Huelva. The qualities of the little cyclist were already evident then: national time trial champion and winner twice of the Vuelta al Besaya. That was his beginning: to begin to compete and little by little to do it in more distant races and of national scope. The good results achieved in that first stage allowed him to join the Contador Foundation, which the cyclist himself defines as "a step forward" in his career.

Third place in the European Championships and a stage in the Tour de Gironde as the most outstanding achievements in that period. What looked like a great season soon turned out to be an appetizer of the next one; it was a year in which he won all the big Spanish races: Gipuzkoako Klasika, Besaya, Bizkaiko Itzulia and Ribera del Duero. In addition to another great role in the Tour de Gironde (first in the young riders and fourth overall).

After two years as a junior, one of the giants of cycling came knocking at his door: INEOS reached out to him and offered him a four-year contract.

Leap to the elite: an unstoppable career

The landing in the World Tour with the jersey of one of the most powerful teams began in 2020. The season was his first contact with the best cyclists in the world: UAE Tour, Vuelta a Burgos, National Road Championship or the Giro della Toscana were some of the first challenges he had to face.

After a somewhat discreet first year —in which it is worth mentioning the 14th position in the European Road Championship— came his second year and with it the first glimpses of what was to come: Tour of the Algarve (second in the youth classification), Tour of Andalusia (fourth), Tour de l'Avenir (first in youth and second overall) and Tour of Britain (tenth).

The progression continued last year: Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (third), Vuelta a Andalucía (fourth), Ruta Occitania (second), National Time Trial Championship (fourth), National Road Championship (first), Clásica de San Sebastián (fifth), Vuelta a Burgos (fourth) or Il Lombradia (fifth).

Last season was also the one of his great performance in La Vuelta; fifth best young rider and seventh overall. He also took part in big races such as Strade Bianche (20th), Volta a Catalunya (15th), Itzulia (stage and 26th overall), Flèche Wallonne (37th).

Finally, this year he started in the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (third in the young riders and tenth overall), the Vuelta a Andalucía (fourth) and after a brief stay in Italy he competed in the Critérium du Dauphiné (first in the young riders and ninth overall). And from there to the Tour.

Carlos Rodriguez's future: between Movistar and INEOS

The contract with INEOS ends at the end of the year, which made Movistar start talks with the cyclist from Granada to join the Spanish structure next season. For months the operation was almost considered a done deal, but the brilliant performance of Carlos Rodríguez in the Tour has made INEOS reconsider the move.

In any case, everything is still up in the air, although it won't be long before the unknowns are cleared up and we will be able to know if he will sign his continuity in INEOS or if he will change his mind and go to Movistar. The future of Carlos Rodriguez could also be linked to the possible signing of Evenepoel by INEOS.