Cycling Market: The
Carlos Rodriguez soap opera is over. The Spanish rider, stage winner in the last Tour de France, will continue to ride for
INEOS Grenadiers for the next four seasons. Thus ends the dream of
Movistar Team. The deal, according to GCN, will be signed next week;
The talented Spanish cyclist had been on the verge of joining Team Movistar for the 2024 season, having previously signed a pre-contract with the Spanish outfit. However, Ineos Grenadiers turned the tables on him. Negotiations, led by Dave Brailsford, head of Ineos, were key.
Although there was a degree of interest from Bora-Hansgrohe, Ineos managed to retain a prized asset for the general classification, a crucial move after losing several key stars to rival teams in recent months. The decision to keep Rodriguez in the team's ranks virtually assures the Spanish rider a leading role in next year's Tour de France. In addition, the move could put an end, at least in the short term, to recent speculation about a move for Remco Evenepoel from Deceuninck-QuickStep.
Over the weekend, Movistar's position seemed to weaken, possibly as they realized that Rodriguez was slipping through their fingers. From Ineos Grenadiers' perspective, the deal to retain Rodriguez is of great importance. The departures of Tao Geoghegan Hart, Pavel Sivakov, Ben Tulett and Dani Martinez have left the team with significant holes to fill. While the team has secured deals with Carlos Verona and former world time trial champion Tobias Foss, Verona will join Lidl-Trek next season, while Foss remains on the market.
Ineos is set to renew several other riders, including Geraint Thomas, Luke Rowe and Omar Fraile, although these deals have yet to be finalized. With Rodriguez set to sign in the coming days, more additions are likely to follow as the British WorldTour team finally begins to move into the transfer market.
