Carlos Rodriguez ๐ช๐ธ
Which team will Carlos Rodriguez be switching to next year? That's the big question as we write this. Will it be the rumoured Movistar? It makes sense given his heritage, and also given that Movistar need another strong GC contender alongside Mas. And Rodriguez is most certainly another strong GC contender. Or will he stay with INEOS who desparately need somebody to step up on GC if they want to fulfill their hopes of winning the Tour de France again.
At only 22, this lad has begun to be a serious contender in all the major tours. His fifth at the Tour de France this year was likely only a fifth and not a fourth due to a gruesome crash on stage twenty of the Tour which let Simon Yates swing past him.
But you know what's probably most exciting about Rodriguez? His strength in one day classics. Fifth in Trofeo Lagueglia, San Sebastian and Il Lombardia last year. Not all climbing classics. At 67kg he's the perfect weight to be able to spit out a tremendous amount of seated power and still be able to climb exceedingly well.
Strengths
Rodriguez has the usual GC strengths of hill climbing and time trialing, but also the ability to belt out a large amount of seated power. Which is crucial for making breaks and being dynamic on all sorts of terrain.
Rodriguez's time trial has come far in recent years, and he's never a bad shout to place in the top five at big name time trials.
In terms of hills, there's no specific gradient that seems to either be his fortitude or his downfall as of yet. A bit more data will help.
When to Bet
One of the best things about Rodriguez is his consistency. He may not always be placing within the top three on GC in the tours he enters, but he'll certainly be in the top ten and usually the top seven. This isn't necessarily a good thing for us bettors - so temper your bets to when the race is either:
- in Spain
- has a time trial
- has a couple of hilly days
We also think Rodriguez has a decent chance if he decides to do one of the spring one day classics and may be given longer odds than he should. We're not saying he'll beat a MVDP or Pogaฤar - but if he plays it right he might be able to land in the top three.
We're thinking he might be able to do better at Strade Bianche than he usually does next year. He'll likely be given longer odds than he should given his poor past performances (DNF & 20th).
