Carlos Rodríguez has been the first
INEOS Grenadiers of the first stage of the
Tour de France. The rider from Almería gave a good feeling in a hard and explosive ending like Pike's that did not suit his characteristics.
Thus, after the test, in statements to Marca, he was satisfied with his performance (he entered the group of Pogacar and Vingegaard 12 seconds behind the winner Adam Yates): "They were explosive climbs that are not the best suited to my conditions so I'm happy to have finished among the best. It's been a very tough day, he hasn't stopped all day. It shows well that we're on the Tour."
He was the best of the INEOS team, as we mentioned after the collapse of Daniel Martínez (more than 3 minutes away) and ahead of Egan Bernal and Tom Pidcock who could not keep up with the header rhythm and came 21 seconds behind the Spaniard. Despite this, he did not want to confirm himself as the leader of anything and assured that he wanted to go step by step in the Grande Boucle: "I am going to continue trying to do my best and we will see how my legs respond".