Ineos back Rodríguez, suspect Tour de France 'could blow apart' on stage 20

Tour de France: Carlos Rodriguez held his own on stage 17 to Courchevel
Tour de France: Carlos Rodriguez held his own on stage 17 to Courchevel (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

Ineos Grenadiers management paid tribute to their Tour de France debutant Carlos Rodríguez for coming through the Alps with his options for a top-five finish in Paris intact despite his inexperience.

Currently in fourth place overall, Rodríguez had a quiet day on Thursday's stage, won by Kasper Asgreen (Soudal-QuickStep). He crossed the line in 39th place and is now looking ahead towards the final mountain stage of this year's Tour de France on Saturday, stage 20 in the Vosges.

Alasdair Fotheringham

Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews, he has also written for The IndependentThe GuardianProCycling, The Express and Reuters.