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.
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
(Image credit: Watson)
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.
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.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
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.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.
