Ineos Grenadier was no doubt disheartened after the first stage of the Tour de France. On the final stage, 22-year-old Carlos Rodriguez finished in 13th place, while Tom Pidcock and Egan Bernal were separated on the final climb, finishing 33 seconds behind.

The 182-km stage, which started and finished in Bilbao, was considered the toughest Tour opener in a decade, with climbs in five categories, three of which were in the last 50 km. Many had Tom Pidcock as the favorite to win, but the Englishman and his Ineos Grenadiers team are trying to find the silver lining in a quiet day.

"Overall I felt good," Rodriguez told Cycling News at the finish.

"It was a hard stage. We didn't stop all day and it was a hard stage. It was unfortunate for Tom, Egan, and Dani (Martinez), but I have to be happy with my performance in the chase group."

This stage was a battle of attrition for the GC contenders. A showdown between Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo Visma) and Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates) was expected, but Pogachar's teammate Adam Yates escaped on the final climb with his twin brother Simon (Jayco Alura) to take the stage win. On the final climb to the finish, Yates pulled away from his brother by 4 seconds, leaving the 12-man chase group another 8 seconds behind.

"Maybe not my best, but I think I was at a good level," Yates said. I want to do as well as I possibly can and give it my best."

Elsewhere, the return of Egan Bernal will also give hope to the Ineos Grenadiers: the Colombian, whose life was in jeopardy after a collision with a bus in early 2022, was a surprise addition to the Ineos Grenadiers' squad announced last week.

Bernal, who received a rousing welcome from the Basque crowd in Bilbao on the morning of the stage, will go free and race with "the motivation to give it all," despite admitting at the pre-race press conference that his "plan before the Dauphiné was now to have a vacation."

Of course, with only one stage to go, there is still a chance for Bernal, Rodriguez, and the rest of the British team to find success.

"We have the whole Tour," Rodriguez concluded. It's how we finish, not how we start."