Ineos Grenadiers co-leader and former Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas has weighed in on the ongoing crisis surrounding teammate Tom Pidcock, saying in an Instagram takeover posted on Eurosport that "It's just messed up."
Pidcock suffered a shock late exit from the team's Il Lombardia lineup - a race where he was considered an outside favourite - saying on his own Instagram account that "Just as things were on the up after a turbulent end to the year I am deselected."
Team sports director Zak Dempster confirmed to Cyclingnews on Saturday morning before the Il Lombardia start that the deselection had been a ' management decision and that's their right'.
But beyond that, there has been no communication from Ineos as to why the Briton was pulled out of the squad and nothing indicating what his future with the team, with whom he is under contract until 2027, could be.
Thomas commented about the complicated situation late in the same day on Eurosport, pointing out first that although he was not acquainted with the details, the resulting scenario was anything but positive.
"I don't actually know what has gone on, but all I know is, when you're the highest-paid rider in your team… it's obviously a really c*** situation," Thomas said.
The Welsh star added that Pidcock would have had options to be a contender in Il Lombardia, had he been racing.
"He's not happy, the team's not happy. How has it got to this point? I don't know. People who are around Tom I don't think help. The fact is that he had a great chance of performing today."
Prior to not racing Il Lombardia, Pidcock had recently impressed in the Giro dell'Emilia by taking second place behind Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) in atrocious weather conditions. The Briton then went on to finish 15th in the Gran Piemonte in the main chasing group behind breakaway Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost).
Thomas referred to the Cyclingnews interview with Dempster, but he repeated that he - and his teammates - were in the dark regarding the root cause of the Pidcock non-selection. "I saw that Zak had said it's a management call, it's not a performance call. I certainly don't know anything about that. We're just riders, what do we know about management?
However, Thomas then repeated in no uncertain terms that regardless of the cause, the end result was one which had left Ineos Grenadiers in a very challenging scenario with one of their top racers.
"It's just not good. All the b****** aside, he's a great talent. He's a good guy, when I'm around him we have a nice time, so it's not good to see that situation. We'll see what happens."
After having two riders in the early break of the day - Brandon Rivera and Thymen Arensman - Ineos Grenadiers' best finisher in the 2024 Il Lombardia was also Arensman, who completed the course in 15th place.
Ineos are now set to race in the Tour of Guangxi this week, the team's last event of the 2024 season. Almost needless to say, Pidcock will not be taking part there, either.
