The ambition of Carlos Rodríguez and a doubt in the time trial: "Of course I will attack"
On Monday morning the Ineos team, installed in Sallanches, went to work despite “enjoying” the second day of rest of the Tour. Carlos Rodríguez focuses all the attention of the British squad, while there is speculation about his future, about that pre-contract with Movistar, whether or not it will be broken. Before, six stages ahead and a podium to defend at 22 years old.
The privileged mind of Carlos Rodríguez, the Spaniard who excites on the Tour: “He has the mentality of an engineer”
A time trial to separate the inseparable Vingegaard and Pogacar: “I only think about being by their side”
There are 19 seconds of mattress with the threatening Adam Yates, indefatigable despite his work for Tadej Pogacar in the UAE. And 1:17 on the Australian Jai Hindley, who seems more in the doldrums after his exhibition in the Pyrenees. They don't look like many more opponents from here to Paris. “You never know who your rival may be. Until now it seemed like Hindley, who was the one with third place and who was unreachable, and now he is fifth and tomorrow I could be the one who is tenth overall. You never know. But I'm going to try to give the best version of myself and fight with whoever is next to me”, challenged the man from Granada in the appearance before the media.
Rodríguez spoke of what is to come and was not at all conservative, aware that Vingegaard and Pogacar are “several steps” above. “Right now, with two running backs that strong and two teams that strong around, it's hard to do any damage without shooting yourself in the foot,” he reasoned, though if he has to attack…. “If I have good legs of course I will attack. I always like to be offensive,” he settled.
The precedent of the Dauphiné
Doubts about Carlos focus this Tuesday on the time trial, the only one of this entire 2023 Tour, of 22.4 kilometers between Passy and Combloux, in the Alps, with several traps in the form of ramps above 10%. There are not many precedents in his career against the clock. In 2018, one of his first successes, he was proclaimed champion of Spain in the junior category. Last year in the Vuelta, ending in Alicante, he was fourth and led the other Yates, Simon by 20 seconds.. But the result of his last time trial is the one that arouses some doubt.
It was a few weeks ago, at the Dauphiné criterium. In those 31.1 kilometers he could only set the 25th fastest time, two minutes behind the winner (Mikkel Bjerg), 1:48 behind Vingegaard, 1:03 behind Adam Yates and 52 seconds behind Hindley, among others.. The one from Almuñécar does not seem concerned about that. “It's not a reference. This Tuesday's time trial is different from that of the Dauphiné. I also arrived in a different way. It was one more experience that can help me to know how to regulate and so on. It's completely different. The legs will be what they say if I can go faster or slower”, he assured emphatically, who already recognized the stage precisely after that Dauphiné in which he finished ninth overall.
Where all his ambitions seem to be focused on Wednesday's impressive stage, still in the Alps, more than 5,000 meters of cumulative unevenness with the final prize being the Col de la Loze (almost 30 kilometers at 6% on average). “It's the stage that suits me best. It's a fairly long climb, very hard and I think it could be one of the important moments of this Tour,” he concluded.