Tom Pidcock has stated that Ineos Grenadiers will probably be “higher” with out the workforce’s director of racing, Steve Cummings, at this 12 months’s Tour de France, after he was surprisingly left at dwelling.
Regardless of Cummings’ senior function within the workforce he has not travelled to the Grand Départ in Florence. As a substitute, Zak Dempster would be the British workforce’s lead DS, supported by second DS Xavier Zandio Echaide.
Cummings’ absence has come as a shock after he was instrumental in assembling the eight-man Ineos squad and race technique.
A spokesperson for Ineos Grenadiers confirmed to Biking Weekly that Cummings could be “supporting Zak and the workforce remotely” as soon as the three-week Grand Tour begins on Saturday.
Pidcock informed Biking Weekly on the race’s workforce presentation on Thursday night that he felt Cummings absence would haven’t any impact on the workforce. “I don’t assume it’ll have an effect,” Pidcock stated. “Issues change, it’s not likely for me to remark.”
He then went on to say that the workforce could be “higher” with out the previous British champion, when requested if he thought issues could be the identical.
Viewers of the latest Tour de France: Unchained Netflix sequence noticed pressure between the pair when discussing rider management duties ultimately 12 months’s race.
On Wednesday, Pidcock joked in regards to the “dangerous man” portrayal of him within the sequence, dismissing it as “drama.”
Biking Weekly understands from sources near the workforce that the depiction of the connection by the Netflix cameras did have a point of accuracy. Sources additionally steered that Pidcock has an enormous say in main choice making on the workforce.
John Allert, the workforce’s CEO, stated that there was “nothing so as to add” to the story and that he wouldn’t be drawn on the explanations behind Cummings’ absence. He repeated the workforce’s line that the DS will probably be supporting the squad remotely throughout the race.
“Steve’s nonetheless engaged on the Tour, he’s simply not on the Tour,” the Australian stated. “He’s feeding stuff in, he’s a part of a workforce, we’ve acquired a workforce of coaches and DSs and he’s clearly an essential a part of that.”
Nevertheless, Dempster stated that he felt it could be troublesome for the previous Tour stage winner to play an enormous half in choices from afar.
“I believe that’s unimaginable,” Dempster stated. “For the second I’m the lead DS right here and it’ll be me managing the race on behalf of the efficiency workforce. However for certain, he can have an enter and he’s performed a extremely good job constructing this journey up to now and we go on with it.”
Dempster went on to say that he had came upon he would lead the workforce greater than “a few weeks in the past”, however different studies have steered that the choice was the truth is solely taken lower than per week earlier than the Tour started.
