In an unexpected change to the management team, the INEOS Grenadiers revealed earlier this week that Steve Cummings would be replaced as leading sports director for the 2024 Tour de France, by Zak Dempster.
Cummings was one of the leading characters in season 2 of Netflix's Tour de France: Unchained documentary, with the INEOS Grenadiers infighting between the former Tour de France stage winner and INEOS star, Tom Pidcock being one of the themes of the series. Cummings and Pidcock were seen to repeatedly be at loggerheads over a number of issues, including the level of the Brit in comparison to teammate Carlos Rodriguez and the subsequent desire from Cummings for Pidcock to sacrifice himself in the service of the Spaniard's podium hopes, with cameras even being asked to be shut off by a visibly annoyed Pidcock at one point.
Following the news of Cummings being stepped down, Pidcock was asked for his opinion on the subject. "I don’t think it’ll have an impact," Pidcock told Cycling Weekly at the team presentation, ahead of the 2024 Tour de France in Florence on Thursday. "Things change, it’s not really for me to comment." However, when pressed further, the British multi-discipline sensation did admit that he thought things would be "better" for the INEOS Grenadiers without Cummings present.
According to INEOS, Cummings, whilst not at the Tour de France, will be helping remotely from home. "Steve’s still working on the Tour, he’s just not at the Tour," explains the new, leading sports director, Zak Dempster. "He’s feeding stuff in, he’s part of a team, we’ve got a team of coaches and DSs and he’s obviously an important part of that."
However, the Australian admits it's unlikely Cummings will be able to have much of an impact. "I think that’s impossible," Dempster said. "For the moment I am the lead DS here and it’ll be me managing the race on behalf of the performance team. But for sure, he will have an input and he’s done a really good job building this journey so far and we go on with it."
Ineos Grenadier. With Rodriguez, Bernal, Pidcock and Thomas all here, the potential for Netlix drama is pretty damn high! *grabs popcorn. Normally, Carlito will prove himself again as the strongest (top 5 again) but I have high hopes for Egan too (stage win). I think Pidcock will…
