Geraint Thomas makes his return to competition this weekend after the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, taking part in two Canadian WorldTour races for Team Sky.
Thomas’s last competitive appearance was in the time trial at the Rio Games, where he placed ninth despite only being handed a last-minute place. He crashed in the finale of the preceding road race while in the lead group, missing out on a medal and coming home in 11th.
The 30-year-old Welshman will join Sky team-mates Philip Deignan, Sebastián Henao, Gianni Moscon, Mikel Nieve, Lars Petter Nordhaug, Luke Rowe and Xabier Zandio.
Took me a good 10sec this morning to work out why I'd set my alarm for 7am… Aaaa yeh I'm off to Canada #backonthegrid 🚴🏻
— Geraint Thomas (@GeraintThomas86) September 6, 2016
The Grand Prix de Québec takes place on Friday, September 9, with the Grand Prix de Montréal on Sunday, September 11. Both races are part of the UCI’s top-level WorldTour calendar, which concludes on October 1 with Il Lombardia in Italy.
Geraint Thomas in the men’s road race at the 2016 Olympic Games
World champion Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) and 2016 Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet are also heading to Canada, joining very strong start lists for the double-header of races.
>>> Peter Sagan looks to boost his WorldTour lead at Canadian races
Adam Yates heads Orica-BikeExchange’s roster – the Brit rider placed second in the 2015 Montreal race just behind winner Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal), who also takes part. GP Quebec 2015 winner Rigoberto Uran headlines Cannondale-Drapac’s roster this year.
Among the other riders to watch out for are Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx-QuickStep), Fabio Aru (Astana), Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida), Romain Bardet (Ag2r), Wilco Kelderman (LottoNL-Jumbo), Jon Izaguirre (Movistar), Jarlinson Pantano (IAM) and home favourite Ryder Hesjedal (Trek-Segafredo) in his final appearance before retirement.
Some riders will use the race to test their form ahead of the 2016 Road World Championships in Doha, Qatar, over October 9-16.
