Carlos Rodríguez the silver lining on a quiet Tour de France stage 1 for Ineos Grenadiers

Carlos Rodriguez on the first stage of the Tour de France
Carlos Rodriguez on the first stage of the Tour de France (Image credit: Getty Images)

Ineos-Grenadiers will undoubtedly come away from stage 1 of the Tour de France feeling downbeat. A best-place finish of 13th came courtesy of 22-year-old Carlos Rodríguez, while Tom Pidcock and Egan Bernal both finished at 33 seconds down after being distanced on the final climb. 

The 182km stage, which started and finished in Bilbao, was described as the toughest Tour opener in a decade, featuring five categorised climbs, three of which came in the final 50km. It was a stage that many had picked Tom Pidcock as a favourite to win, but the Briton and his Ineos Grenadiers team will be looking for silver linings on an otherwise quiet day. 

Josh Croxton
Associate Editor (Tech)

Josh is Associate Editor of Cyclingnews – leading our content on the best bikes, kit and the latest breaking tech stories from the pro peloton. He has been with us since the summer of 2019 and throughout that time he's covered everything from buyer's guides and deals to the latest tech news and reviews. 

On the bike, Josh has been riding and racing for over 15 years. He started out racing cross country in his teens back when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s, racing at a local and national level for Somerset-based Team Tor 2000. These days he rides indoors for convenience and fitness, and outdoors for fun on road, gravel, 'cross and cross-country bikes, the latter usually with his two dogs in tow.