"I feel very lucky to have so many people cheering me on" - Carlos Rodriguez hoping home support can fire him Vuelta GC as race reaches first rest day
Cycling
The first rest day of the 2024 Vuelta a Espana has arrived and for Spanish GC hopeful Carlos Rodriguez, things have been solid but not spectacular so far at his home Grand Tour.
Ninth in the general classification, Rodriguez is exactly 6:00 down on the Red Jersey of Ben O'Connor, but just 2:07 behind 2nd overall Primoz Roglic and as such, a first Grand Tour podium is still very much within sight of the INEOS Grenadiers leader, who has finished in the top 7 of all three of his previous Grand Tour efforts.
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"First week completed of this Vuelta," begins a rest day reflection posted to Rodriguez's official social media pages, with the Spaniard delighted by the warm reception he has received on home roads over the last nine stages. "Thank you very much for the support these days, and especially yesterday. I feel very lucky to have so many people cheering me on, it is certainly special. I hope to make you enjoy these remaining weeks."
With finishes of 6th (Vuelta a Espana 2022), 5th (Tour de France 2023) and 7th (Tour de France 2024) on his palmares already, Rodriguez will definitely be looking up the general classification in the coming weeks and with the race entering territory that should favour the 23-year-old, a podium is within sight, as is the White Jersey for Best Young Rider. Currently, Rodriguez sits 2nd in that classification, but with the relatively untested Florian Lipowitz only 33 seconds clear of the Spaniard, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Rodriguez in white when the race reaches its conclusion in Madrid.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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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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Primera semana completada de esta Vuelta. Muchísimas gracias por el apoyo estos días, y en especial ayer. Me siento muy afortunado de contar con tanta gente animándome, es desde luego especial. Espero poder haceros disfrutar en estas semanas que quedan 👊
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