"Carlos Rodríguez is on the long list": INEOS targets Tour de France and Vuelta for returning Spaniard
Cycling
After a lot of uncertainty, the plan for Carlos Rodríguez’s 2026 season has finally taken shape. INEOS Grenadiers has confirmed that the Spanish rider will return to racing next week at the Tour de la Provence, with the goal of targeting both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España later this year.
Rodríguez has not competed since July last year due to injuries he got during the last Tour de France, which forced him to abandon stage 18. Because he has been away for more than six months, and because INEOS signed big talents like Oscar Onley and Kevin Vauquelin, there were rumors that the 25-year-old might be losing his status in the team.
A possible Grand Tour double
However, speaking to MARCA, the British team cleared up the mystery. They confirmed that Rodríguez is still a key part of their plans for the Grand Tours, although nothing is 100% guaranteed yet.
Imanol Erviti, one of the Sports Director at INEOS Grenadiers, explained that the team is planning for Rodríguez to race two Grand Tours, but it depends on how he recovers. "Carlos Rodríguez is on the long list of riders for the Tour de France. Possibly, he can also be at the Vuelta a España," Erviti said.
If he makes the team for the Tour de France in July, Rodríguez would likely share leadership with Onley and Vauquelin. Later in the season, at the Vuelta a España, he would probably have more freedom to fight for the general classification himself.
Rodríguez outsprinted Jorgenson to win the last stage of the 2024 Critérium du Dauphiné
The road back: Provence, Paris-Nice and Catalunya
Before thinking about the big three-week races, Rodríguez needs to test his legs. His season will officially start in France at the Tour de la Provence next week (February 13-15). This will be his first race in over half a year.
After that, he has a busy schedule with some of the most important one-week races on the calendar: Paris-Nice (March 8-15) and Volta a Catalunya (March 23-30).
This schedule shows that INEOS still trusts the Spaniard to compete against the best riders in the world right from the start of his comeback. The Spaniard had a rough 2025, not winning any race, although he managed to finish in the top 10 of Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, Tour de Romandie and Critérium du Dauphiné.
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Félix SernaCycling Journalist
Félix Serna is a writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2025. He covers professional cycling across both the men’s and women’s calendars, with a focus on UCI rankings, race developments, and rider performance. His work includes interview-based reports, liveblogs, and tournament coverage designed to provide clear, accurate context throughout the season.
In his reporting, Félix regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical reference. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies.
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- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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