Daniel Martínez' GC fades in Châtel, however INEOS keep three-pronged approach into Alpine stages
Cycling
INEOS Grenadiers had a lot of depth coming into the race and at the end of the week the balance is positive. With three riders in the first seven positions the team is in a position to succeed at the Tour, however they will not be counting on Daniel Martínez in this specific fight.
"He wasn't feeling so good today. It showed there didn't it?" Rod Ellingworth, INEOS' deputy team principal said after the finish of stage nine. Martínez lost ground on the ascent to Pas de Morgins and let go his GC aspirations, loosing over 15 minutes to his former competition. "We shall see what's happened but it's a little bit disappointing for him I'm sure, because he's come here for a higher result than what he's going to get now, but there we go, that's life," he said.
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After Martínez' very impressive start to the season this came as a surprise. The Colombian won Itzulia Basque Country, finished on the podium of the Volta ao Algarve and Paris-Nice, won the Colombian time-trial championships and finished on the Top5 of Fleche Wallone and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. His form at the Tour de Suisse wasn't as sharp as some of his rivals however he finished eighth whilst supporting eventual winner Geraint Thomas.
He expected to come to his own during the Tour but the opposite has happened. The 26-year old hadn't given good signs, sitting tenth at the start of stage nine, but things took a turn for the worst in the high mountains. The team's depth in the mountains could be put to question, but Ellingworth shrugs that idea off: "Not really, no. At the end of the day, we've still got the three guys on GC. Tom's there, I think the road has played its part so far with Tom and we'll see," he concluded.
Pidcock is currently sitting in seventh place in the overall classification and will ride the first stage of the second week with the white jersey on his shoulders as Tadej Pogacar will be wearing yellow. With Geraint Thomas third and Adam Yates fourth in the GC, INEOS remain in a strong position to shape the race.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- You are wrong, they are already working on his new tt position. And yes, Trump does love you 😂👍🏼awp01-11-2026
- The Erola Jons incident was not isolated. She felt she could do that because that's how everyone treats Tadej. Remember when he said "If I say wait 2 mins do you show the middle finger and walk off angry?" about the supposed fan who did exactly that? There's nothing wrong with the nurses and doctors asking him to give autographs... but do the surgery first
Rafionain-Glas01-11-2026 - Perhaps he has what Mark Cavendish had, the Epstein-Barr Virus. It caused him severe and unexplained chronic fatigue. I hope he gets better.
parisbound0001-11-2026 - How can medical staff act like that? pretty disgraceful! the guys down and they're near seeing him off ;/
leedorney01-11-2026 - I think that this is exactly what Jonas needs at this point in his career. It's something that could revive his passion for winning, and he's physically more than capable of winning one of those races as well.
santiagobenites01-11-2026 - What a great race! Couldn't look away. Can't wait for the eurosRafionain-Glas01-11-2026
- I think other competitors also had great Tours, so it wasn't that Ferrand-Prévot necessarily failed in some way - it's more likely that the other top riders lifted their game and maybe also a bit of luck with no crashes, etc. It's the Tour de France after all. It's not meant to be easy to defend your title (the few exceptions like Pogacar prove the rule).Pogboom01-11-2026
- maybe we should put our cv at the end of each comment post ... same rights for all of us!Ketterechts01-11-2026
- hahah literally all it is. Glad im not the only one noticing, essentially this is just a blog as it is now. Run buy boys from their bedroom hehe Their very subjective aswell, people on twitter even said their pure visma fanboys, if you listen to Ruben silva guy pre TDF this year all he said turned out to be wrong and constantly fail to realize visma isnt where they was before roster wice or means to contest even RBH or Lidl anymore, ,very biased ppl and when you run ''news articles that way its problematic..miguel01-11-2026
- The new joke of the year in 2027: "If both guys (Pogi and Seixas) finish upright on their bikes and both don't get sick for some reason, I think Paul will fight Tadej to the end and will possibly beat him in 2027 at the Tour, yes, I just said that." ... ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ...PogiSloFans01-11-2026
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What a brilliant ride in the break from @jcastroviejo. He finishes strong to take second place behind solo winner Jungels. G, Adam and Tom come home shortly after in a select peloton #TDF2022
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