“Finally the body is starting to respond” - Carlos Rodriguez takes Tour de France confidence as INEOS end Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in all-out attack mode

Carlos Rodriguez left the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes without a stage win, but with an important Tour de France signal after a difficult week for Netcompany INEOS: his body is finally coming round.

The Spaniard was part of an aggressive final-stage plan on the road to Plateau de Solaison, with INEOS placing numbers in the early break after several frustrating days shaped by crashes and missed chances. Rodriguez finished third in the mountains classification after jumping 14 places on the final day, while Laurens De Plus also climbed into the KoM top five after another active ride.

Speaking to Cycling Pro Net after the stage, Rodriguez said the team’s response was the strongest part of the day.

“It was all about the attitude,” he said. “We didn’t have the best days before. We also missed some guys with crashes and fortune wasn’t on our side, but what mattered most was the attitude straight from the beginning.”

Netcompany INEOS sent three riders into the early move as the final stage opened aggressively over the first climbs. With Isaac del Toro, Luke Tuckwell, Juan Ayuso and Matteo Jorgenson still fighting for the overall podium behind, the break was never allowed complete freedom, but Rodriguez felt the approach showed the reaction INEOS wanted. “We wanted to have someone in the race, so we put almost all the team there,” he said. “I think everyone committed. We tried our best.”

The final stage eventually belonged to Del Toro, who attacked on Plateau de Solaison to win both the stage and the overall title for UAE Team Emirates - XRG. For Rodriguez and INEOS, the day ended without the victory they had chased, but not without proof that the team had refused to let the race drift away. “From behind, it wasn’t easy. They didn’t let us have a big gap, but we never surrendered,” Rodriguez said. “We kept pushing until the end.”

The Spaniard said the result did not erase the effort made across the team. “It couldn’t be today, but we take the good attitude from all the team, trying and never stopping believing,” he said. “For sure, one day it will come.”

The final stage also doubled as one last major mountain test before the Tour de France. Rodriguez was asked whether he was happy with the feeling in his body and the numbers he had seen before heading into the next block of preparation. “Finally the body is starting to respond,” he said.

That was the clearest positive from the final day. After a race where INEOS had to absorb setbacks and then chase from the front on the last stage, Rodriguez leaves with signs that his condition is moving in the right direction before July. “We go now with the team happy, and we’ll keep working to arrive at the Tour in the best shape possible,” Rodriguez said. “I’m fine.”

Rodriguez leaves the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes with no stage win, but with better sensations, a late jump in the mountains classification and an INEOS team that finished the race still attacking.