Steve Cummings has said he never got any explanation from Ineos Grenadiers for being left at home during the Tour de France this year, and subsequent races.
The former pro rider has just joined Team Jayco AlUla, having departed Ineos Grenadiers, where he was director of racing, after a protracted, and very public, break-up.
Cummings has also defended his record of managing the British team and described as strange the reports of his supposed falling out with Tom Pidcock, which many observers see as the main reason for his departure from the team.
The Netflix Unchained season, about the Tour de France in 2023, showed Cummings have a conversation with Pidcock and suggesting he needed to get behind the general classification hopes of Carlos Rodriguez.
However, Pidcock asked for the cameras to be turned off - apparently so the conversation could be continued in private. That exchange appears to be at the heart for much of the speculation that Cummings and Pidcock did not get on, and that was the reason Cummings was frozen out of the team.
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“On a personal level, I never had a problem (with Pidcock) and haven’t got one,” Cummings has now told Cycling Weekly in an interview. “It’s quite surprising, all the stuff that was written. It’s all smoke really. What was on Netflix, that was it. There was never anything else.”
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Cummings added Ineos Grenadiers “didn’t really give (me) a reason” for his omission from this year's Tour, but he had to accept it and eventually decided to move on.
“The team decided to take me off the race. Like when you’re not selected as a rider, it’s just a decision you respect,” he said. “I guess they thought it was in the best interest of the team. And then you start to look elsewhere.
“I think there are obviously moments when it’s frustrating, but you just try to be resilient, accept it and move on. I just thought I’d continue with the team. It wasn’t until sort of October, then I decided (it was) better to change."
Cummings also defended his record as lead sports director with Ineos Grenadiers on the Tour in 2022 and 2023; both years when Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) were dominant.
“G did third behind Vingegaard and Pogačar, Tom Pidcock won a stage which was probably the most beautiful stage win of the Tour," Cummings said of the 2022 Tour.
"Then the next year, the team won two stages and Carlos was fifth, fighting for the podium until the last days when he crashed. That was phenomenal in his first Tour.
"I’m just grateful to all the riders, staff and everyone who helped us achieve [that]. In my opinion, with all the information I had, we maximised the team.”
