Tom Pidcock "is ready to ride the Tour, but it's not confirmed yet" says INEOS coach

Recently Tom Pidcock has been rumoured to be heading to the Tour de France. His schedule will be very heavy this spring with no time for training camps before the Giro d'Italia, and combined with a recent illness, it has made the team rethink his initial schedule.

"He is ready to ride the Tour, but it's not confirmed yet," Rod Ellingworth, INEOS Grenadiers coach, told VeloNews. "In addition to the leaders, we have drawn up a long list for the Tour and it is about putting the right riders on that list at the right times. Something always changes and I think Tom is open to the idea. But it will be a while until the Tour. At the moment he is still concentrating on the spring."

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The team is keen on pointing out that the plans are still open, and the list of riders with the possibility of heading to the Tour de France is still big, with the example of Australian talent Luke Plapp who thrived at the recent UAE Tour.

"Luke Plapp rode very strong in the UAE Tour. He was there with the best six, seven climbers in the pack. You can't if you don't have the legs. Because of that performance, he will soon ride the Volta a Catalunya, even though that was not the plan initially. We don't want to stop those guys from doing that. Who knows, Plapp will soon also ride the Tour de France," he added.

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Ellingworth also answered to the ongoing rumours of Tom Pidcock's contract, which is set to end this season and is in negotiations with the team: "Once it's done, we can confirm it. I know there is some speculation and everyone is asking about us, but when it comes to Tom you have to be with his management. We're still working on that. There will be more teams that want to get him. And that will apply to even more riders."