Geraint Thomas confirmed for Team Sky's Tirreno-Adriatico roster
Welshman Geraint Thomas will tackle Italian seven-stage Tirreno-Adriatico (March 8-14) ahead of his tilt at the Giro d'Italia in May
Team Sky has confirmed that Geraint Thomas will ride Tirreno-Adriatico, starting on Wednesday, March 8.
Welshman Thomas has been named in Sky's line-up for the seven-day, WorldTour race alongside fellow Giro d'Italia co-leader Mikel Landa of Spain.
The two riders spearhead a strong team for the British squad that also includes on-form Strade Bianche winner Michal Kwiatkowski of Poland, new recruit Diego Rosa and sprinter Elia Viviani.
>>> Tirreno-Adriatico 2017: Latest news, reports and info
The eight-man team is completed with Vasil Kiryienka, Gianni Moscon and Salvatore Puccio.
Thomas missed out on defending his 2016 victory in the concurrently running Paris-Nice in France to focus on his preparation for the Giro in May.
Thomas has ridden in six of the past seven editions of Paris-Nice. A change of early-season schedule to ride Tirreno will give him a chance to familiarise himself with the Italian terrain before May.
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Thomas and Landa will face Grand Tour rivals Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), Fabio Aru (Astana), Thibaut Pinot (FDJ), Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) and Adam Yates (Orica-Scott).
Watch: Geraint Thomas's greatest win, in his own words
Thomas has recently returned from South Africa, where he was training with triple Tour de France champion and Sky team-mate Chris Froome.
The 2017 Tirreno-Adriatico commences with a 22.7-kilometre team time trial in Lido di Camaiore and concludes on Tuesday, March 14 with a decisive 10.1km individual test against the clock.
Saturday's stage four will be the key climbing test for those with aspirations of a high overall placing, with a ascent to the line on Terminillo.
Last year, the event’s key mountain stage with a summit finish in the Apennine Mountains was cancelled due to extreme weather conditions. This effectively prevented the climbers from making a dent in the general classification, and the win was taken by Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) - who returns in 2017.
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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.
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