Ineos Grenadiers co-leader and former Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas, in an Instagram takeover posted on Eurosport about the ongoing crisis surrounding teammate Tom Pidcock, “It's a mess.” He said.

Pidcock was shockingly removed from the team Il Lombardia.

Team sport director Zach Dempster admitted to Cycling News on Saturday morning before the start of Il Lombardia that the omission was “a management decision and it's their right.” There is also no indication of a future relationship with Ineos, which is under contract through 2027.

Thomas commented on this complicated situation later the same day on Eurosport. 'I don't know what happened, but as the highest paid rider on the team ...... It's obviously a really bad situation,” Thomas said.

Thomas, a Welsh star, added that Pidcock would have had the option of joining the championship contenders if he had competed for Lombardia.

“He's not happy and neither is the team. I don't know how this happened ....... I don't think the people around Tom are going to help him. In fact, he had a chance to put in a great performance today.

Before missing Il Lombardia, Pidcock had finished second in the Giro delle Miglia in bad weather behind Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates). He then finished 15th in Gran Piemonte behind breakaway leader Nielson Powles (EF Education Easy Post).

Thomas referred to Dempster's Cycling News interview, but reiterated that he, and his teammates, knew nothing about the root cause of Pidcock's omission. He said, “I saw Zach say it was a management decision, not a performance decision. We certainly don't know anything about that. We are just riders, what do we know about management?

However, Thomas clearly reiterated that whatever the cause, the end result was to put Ineos Grenadiers, one of the top racers, in a very difficult situation.

“It's not good. He's a great talent. He's a good guy and I have a great time with him. Let's see what happens.”

After two riders, Brandon Rivera and Timen Arensman, took part in the early breaks of the day, Arensman was also the best finisher for Ineos Grenadiers at 2024 Il Lombardia, completing the course in 15th place.

Ineos will compete this week in the Tour of Guangxi, the last event of the 2024 season. Needless to say, Pidcock will not be there.