Netcompany Ineos sports director Imanol Erviti has explained that the reason that stage racing speicalist Carlos Rodríguez is missing from their 2026 Tour de France lineup was linked to illness in early June and a "build-up that wasn't as straightforward as we'd have liked".
Rodríguez, who placed fifth overall in the 2023 Tour de France, had been earmarked among a trio of possible GC contenders for Ineos alongside Oscar Onley and Kévin Vauquelin – the three of them racing together for much of the season with a view to July.
When Onley, fourth at last year's Tour, was ruled out after crashing badly in the Tour de Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, expectations rose that Rodríguez would have even greater responsibility. But instead the team opted to leave Rodríguez out of the line-up and go for a squad that would focus mainly on stage wins.
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In an interview with AS on Wednesday at the Tour, Netcompany sports director Imanol Erviti explained that the decision to leave Rodríguez at home – described by the newspaper as "one of the big surprises before the Tour began" – was not a 'punishment'.
"His build-up to the Tour wasn't as straightforward as we'd have liked. Carlos went down with a bit of flu at the Dauphiné, and the team decided he'd be the reference point for the Vuelta a España, depending on what happens with Onley," Erviti said.
"Our priorities changed in the Tour, but we still value and appreciate Carlos. We hope he'll be in great shape for the Vuelta."
Erviti pushed back hard at the idea that Rodríguez's absence from the Tour was a punishment, saying simply: "People are surprised and it was a blow for me, but that's why I wanted to explain it.
"I'm in touch with him and sometimes the relationship with the Tour is one of love-hate. He's an intelligent guy, he misses not being here and that'll motivate him for doing the Tour of Austria" – which started on Wednesday – "San Sebastián, Vuelta a Burgos and the Vuelta a España."
Erviti was equally categorical about Rodríguez's long-term future in the team, which had been questioned by a Spanish newspaper citing 'multiple sources'. As far as he knew, Erviti said, Netcompany Ineos would continue to count on the 25-year-old – out of contract at the end of 2027 – "without a shadow of a doubt".
Asked about Rodríguez' absence from the line-up before the Tour began, last week Netcompany race director Geraint Thomas described opting to leave him out was "a super-tough decision and it wasn't based on one rider versus another.
"It was more just that the general balance of the team and wanting to be competitive throughout the race over all terrains, and that's the decision we came to, based on the objectives, really."
As of Tuesday evening, Netcompany's best placed rider on GC was Thymen Arensman in 20th, over 10 minutes down on race leader Torstein Træen (UnoX-Mobility) but just over 2:12 down on key reference point Tadej Pogačar(UAE Team Emirates-XRG). Either way, Erviti recognised to AS that: "It's a different kind of Tour for us.
"We were always more about the overall, but this year the priority has changed a bit. Day by day and aiming for stage wins.
"One of them was the TTT and we were close. Obviously if we have somebody up there overall, we're not going to throw that away, but we're aware the challenges this year are different."
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