"People who are around Tom I don't think help" - Geraint Thomas weighs in on Pidcock/INEOS drama

Tom Pidcock was controversially deselected from the INEOS Grenadiers line-up for Il Lombardia last weekend, despite coming second to Tadej Pogacar in the Giro dell'Emilia. With seemingly all signs now hinting towards a Pidcock exit, INEOS stalwart Geraint Thomas has weighed in on the situation.

The Welshman is clear that what has happened makes no sense, even less so with the highest paid rider in the squad: "We should address the elephant in the room. It's just messed up," begins Thomas via an Instagram takeover on Eurosport Cycling alongside Laurens De Plus. "I don't actually know what has gone on, but all I know is, when you're the highest-paid rider in your team… it's obviously a really c*** situation."

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As Thomas admits, things can't go on as they are, so something has to change. "He's not happy, the team's not happy. How has it got to this point?" Thomas questions aloud. "I don't know. People who are around Tom I don't think help. The fact is that he had a great chance of performing today (Il Lombardia last Saturday)."

Arguably the most controversialaspect of the whole situation, is that Pidcockwas removed from the final monument by the team's upper management, meaning his recent performance levels had nothing to do with it. "I saw that Zak Dempster had said it's a management call, it's not a performance call. I certainly don't know anything about that. We're just riders, what do we know about management?" Thomas says. "It's just not good. All the b******* aside, he's a great talent. He's a good guy, when I'm around him we have a nice time, so it's not good to see that situation. We'll see what happens."

With rumours of interest from a number of teams, if Pidcock is to leave INEOS he'll seemingly have no shortage of new suitors. Definitely a situation that we'll continue to keep our eye on.

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