Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas will be back in action at Tirreno-Adriatico next week.
The British Grand Tour stars were not selected to race the Tour de France, but will instead be given leadership opportunities later in the year.
As both Thomas and Froome try to build their fitness, the former Tour winners will be lining up in Italy for Tirreno from Monday (September 7), with a powerful Ineos Grenadiers squad around them.
The provisional squad for Ineos also includes Rohan Dennis, Eddie Dunbar, Tao Geoghegan Hart and Filippo Ganna.
Running over eight stages the 2020 Tirreno-Adriatico, delayed from its usual spot in March, will feature a huge selection of star riders, most of whom are preparing for the Giro d’Italia in October.
Alongside Thomas and Froome, Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo), Jakob Fuglsang (Astana), Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix).
The 2020 race will feature three opportunities for the sprinters, two hilly stages for the Classics specialists and two mountain days before the final time trial in San Benedetto del Tronto.
Earlier this month, Ineos Grenadiers boss Sir Dave Brailsford announced that both Froome and 2018 Tour winner Geraint Thomas would not be riding in France but would instead lead the team in the Vuelta a España and Giro d’Italia respectively.
On riding the Giro, Thomas said: “In 2017 I was in great shape. I was in a similar form to what I was in 2018 when I won the Tour.
“The Giro ended badly that year with a crash and it’s something I’ve always wanted to go back to. I enjoy the racing there. I’ve always loved Italy, the roads and the fans and the food obviously. I’m looking forward to going back.”
The 2020 Critérium du Dauphiné was the last opportunity for both riders to show their form and earn their spot in the Tour team, but their fitness still wasn’t there.
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But we’ll now see the British pairing racing outside of France as they reset their goals for the season.
Alex is the digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter and now as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output.
Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) and joining CW in 2018, Alex has covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers.
Away from journalism, Alex is a national level time triallist, avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
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