Can Carlos Rodríguez contest for the victory at Vuelta a Espana? "It's the first time I'm going to do two Grand Tours in a row"
CyclingTuesday, 13 August 2024 at 15:15
Carlos Rodríguez faces the Vuelta a España with enthusiasm after a complicated Tour de France in which he finished completely exhausted. After being confirmed by INEOS Grenadiers as one of the leaders of the British squad along with Thymen Arensman, he assures to be recovered to face the challenge.
"After the Tour I took a few days off to recover and then I started to train little by little to try to stay in shape. I think the body is now recovered and I'm starting to feel more myself after being sick for some time," he said in the team's announcement of the lineup for the final Grand Tour of the season.
In 2022 he raced the Vuelta (where he finished sixth on his debut) and in 2023 the Tour. In 2024, for the first time in his career, he will race 2 Grand Tours, something that will be even more special racing at home: "It's the first time I'm going to do two Grand Tours in a row, so it's going to be a new experience for me. I just want to enjoy the race as much as possible, and it's going to be special with the crowds on home roads.
Leadership with Arensman
He believes that he will get along very well with his teammate Thymen Arensman who should be a co-leader in the Spanish race, looking for the best for the team, although he does not dare to talk about a podium or a specific result:
"We are going with a strong team and we will fight to get the best possible result, both overall and in the stages. Thymen and I have already raced and trained a lot together, and I'm sure this will help us to manage the different race situations in the best possible way."
The lineup of the British team is one of the strongest heading into the race and also includes Laurens de Plus as a possible co-leader of luxury domestique, Joshua Tarling who should be the main favourite to win the opening time-trial in Lisbon and also Jhonatan Narváez who should be a strong contender to win stages in the many difficult hilly finales of the race.
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- I guess that I'll need to find another sport to follow then.
santiagobenites05-06-2025 - Agreed, this sprint s is not woethy of a religation penalty! This should be re examied ou tof fairness.sam05-06-2025
- no brilliance from Yates or Visma?? you don't win Grand Tour without being strong rider. He stayed podium thru mtns without teammates Toro had full team of super climbers.Brilliant WVA and Yates, both monumental, inspiration comebacks, crushing the ride (all-time record time and he's not strong?). We all know Toro and Carapaz failed, but they didn't trust their legs; you might win by a few seconds if the others look at each other but not 5min.ccpivo05-06-2025
- If this story ftom Del Toro's father is accurate. It is quite shameful to hear and very sad to read. The U.C.I. need to sort these shoddy goings on in Mexican cycling now!Cyclingsbestfan05-06-2025
- He was evidently not considered a threat by Carapaz and del Toro, either, until it was too late.velodan05-06-2025
- Insane that Yates lost the Giro seven years earlier when he was winning stages for fun in first two weeks.singleta05-06-2025
- Luck is when Issac Del Toro and Carapaz get a puncture and Yates gets 30 s. Stupid tactics of others is not considered luck. Yates won by 4 minutes. There is not way he gets 4 unless the people behind him acting out.abstractengineer05-06-2025
- Corruption is the secret ingredient. Otherwise, the only other explanation for the poor state of cycling is they're not funded.
KerisVroom05-06-2025 - Giro 2025 is like Tour 2008 when Carlos Sastre won atop Alpe d'Huez. He should like ride Cadel Evans winning in Tour 2011.
James2631805-06-2025 - If they have to say that is not afraid, actually they may be afraidAlanCristian0205-06-2025
Cycling Up to Date said he was completely exhausted not CR himself and that was now some weeks ago. I think any major fatigue was most likley due to illness rather than the race itself. Like Abstract, I think a top 5 is possible with a podium a bit of a long shot but it's a 21 day race so you never know.
I think no. Very few people can do 2 GTs back to back for GC. He is also too young. He is not Pogi or Jonas. Podium or Top 5 yes.
he’s admittedly completely exhausted so they give him a few weeks off and throw him back into another GC? makes no sense to me - it sounds like a recipe for disaster. we’ll see.