Tom Pidcock has spoken about Ineos Grenadiers’ shocking determination to have their director of racing, Steve Cummings, help the staff remotely throughout the Tour de France, saying that he felt it might have little affect.
“I don’t assume it’ll have an effect. Issues change, it’s not likely for me to remark,” Pidcock instructed Biking Weekly on the Tour de France groups presentation held on Thursday on the Piazza Michelangelo in Florence, Italy.
Cummings and Pidcock appeared to endure a tense relationship throughout the 2023 Tour de France, in response to the just lately launched Netflix collection, Tour de France Unchained. Nevertheless, in a press convention forward of the Tour de France, Pidcock and teammate Carlos Rodriguez dismissed the Netflix episode as “drama”.
Cummings held the place of lead directeur sportif finally yr’s Tour de France, however this yr, the staff has positioned directeur sportif Zak Dempster in that function. The staff will even have a second directeur sportif, Xavier Zandio Echaide, on the race.
Dempster instructed Biking Weekly that he realized that he could be main the staff on the Tour de France two weeks in the past. He additionally stated that he felt that it might be difficult for Cummings to help the staff remotely.
“I feel that’s unimaginable. For the second, I’m the lead DS right here, and it’ll be me managing the race on behalf of the efficiency staff. However for certain, he could have an enter, and he’s performed a very good job constructing this journey up to now, and we go on with it.”
Cummings has labored on a number of races as Ineos Grenadiers’ directeur sportif this season, together with the Critérium du Dauphiné, historically thought-about the build-up race to the Tour de France.
He has performed a key function in deciding the Ineos Grenadiers’ roster and race technique for the Tour de France, the place Rodriguez and Egan Bernal have been designated as Ineos’ GC leaders, with Pidcock and Geraint Thomas to help them and goal stage wins.
“So long as we’re all pulling in the identical route, which I am assured we might be profitable,” Thomas stated within the press convention. “In fact, there’ll be bumps within the highway, however I feel it is simply coping with them as greatest we will at the moment. We’re all clear what we’re coming right here to attempt to obtain.”
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