Geraint Thomas hopeful of World Time Trial Championship tilt to round off 2019 season
The Welshman has said he also hopes to ride the road race in a support role
Geraint Thomas (Ineos) says he hopes to focus on a tilt at the rainbow bands of the World Time Trial Championship jersey in September to round off his 2019 season.
Following his second place finish at the Tour de France behind team-mate Egan Bernal, Thomas said the Worlds being in the UK is “a massive deal” and the race against the clock in Yorkshire is a “good enough” motivation to continue training after the Tour, which was the primary focus of his season.
>>> Tom Dumoulin unlikely to recover from injury in time for World Championships
“Obviously I’ve got a decent base behind me now with all the training for the Tour plus the actual Tour, so hopefully I won’t have to do too much volume,” Thomas said. “[Hopefully I can] just get out on the TT bike and smash out a few efforts and try and stay sober.”
As well as the TT, Thomas says he hopes to make the British squad for the road race and will ride in support of British National road race champion Ben Swift: “I guess the Worlds being in the UK is a massive deal for us Brits, so I’d love to go there and do a job for Swifty, who I’m guessing will be the main man.”
Speaking on the 'Watts Occurring podcast he co-hosts with team-mate Luke Rowe, Thomas says he is still recovering from the last victory he was involved in, with Ineos’ party on the Champs-Élysées on Sunday night to celebrate Egan Bernal’s victory apparently leaving the young Colombian “a bit worse for wear”. The night also involved Ineos owner Jim Ratcliffe’s son, Sam, handing Thomas a bidon filled with rum on the team bus, the Welshman recovering by eating an entire tube of pringles at the airport the next day.
Thomas says he completed his first three and a half hours back on the bike on Thursday, saying it felt like the end of the season already, following a half hour turbo on Wednesday saying “I needed a sweat, it’s crazy how quickly you swell up and feel terrible.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
“After three months of living like a monk and then going to beers, burgers and pizzas, it doesn’t go down well.”
When asked if he’s happy with the outcome of the 2019 Tour de France, Thomas said: “I’d say I’m content. Obviously having a team-mate in front of me makes it okay but if it had been anyone else I’d have been annoyed.
“I can just be happy you know, I look at the last 13 or 14 months and it’s just been mental. The Dauphiné was a dream, even the races like Tirreno when I dropped and the Algarve when Michał Kwiatkowksi attacked me, it was good all year.
“Especially the month or two running up to the Tour and the Tour itself, it all went incredibly well.
“And then afterwards was just more crazy, so to manage to get back into decent enough shape to be on the podium in the Tour, if you’d asked me two years ago I’d be happy with second now, for sure I’d have taken it, so I’m happy.”
Despite setting his sights on the upcoming Worlds in Yorkshire, Thomas says he needs a bit of downtime before re-focusing on racing.
“I’m just enjoying a bit of down time away from everyone because the Tour is so intense, especially having won last year, the whole build up is insane.
“When you’re in it, you've got the media before and after every day, the fans asking for selfies, obviously you don’t mind but when there are hundreds every day you just can’t do it and you feel a bit of a d**k sometimes when you ride past people. To have that every day for three weeks, it’s a lot.”
The 2020 season is looking like it will provide even more headaches for Ineos than the current one, with the British squad now boasting three Grand Tour winners within its roster, as Movistar’s Richard Carapaz is expected to join soon fresh from his Giro d’Italia win.
This conundrum is not lost on either Thomas or Rowe, with Rowe saying discussions over the plan for the 2020 season likely to take place in the coming months, and Thomas joking team leaders for races will be decided by “picking straws on the team bus in the morning”.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Hi. I'm Cycling Weekly's Weekend Editor. I like writing offbeat features and eating too much bread when working out on the road at bike races.
Before joining Cycling Weekly I worked at The Tab and I've also written for Vice, Time Out, and worked freelance for The Telegraph (I know, but I needed the money at the time so let me live).
I also worked for ITV Cycling between 2011-2018 on their Tour de France and Vuelta a España coverage. Sometimes I'd be helping the producers make the programme and other times I'd be getting the lunches. Just in case you were wondering - Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen had the same ham sandwich every day, it was great.
-
Giro d'Italia stage 1 live: Race gets underway in Turin
The opening stage takes the riders from Venaria Reale to Turin
By Joseph Lycett Last updated
-
‘I was just on a mad one’ - Lewis Askey reflects back on the ride that helped him turn pro
British rider remembers his victory at Paris-Roubaix juniors
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Luke Rowe set to retire at end of 2024, as Geraint Thomas '95%' certain to retire in 2025
The Welsh pair will likely both have left professional cycling by 2026
By Adam Becket Published
-
Complete Giro d'Italia 2024 start list: Cian Uijtdebroeks and Olav Kooij lead Visma-Lease a Bike
All the teams and riders for the 107th Giro d'Italia
By Adam Becket Published
-
Giro d'Italia 2024 contenders: Can anyone stop Tadej Pogačar?
The Slovenian is the outright favourite for overall victory but there are plenty of other riders capable of having a say on the start line
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'It was one of the hardest days of my life' - Rain and cold lay waste to Tour of the Alps
Juanpe López takes stage three victory, while Geraint Thomas finishes three minutes down in inclement Austrian weather
By Tom Davidson Published
-
The art of peaking with Geraint Thomas: 'It’s easy to take for granted that 9 times out of 10 I hit my goals'
The Welshman also calls for better governance in the sport to help it grow further
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
'Losing the plot in public - it's mental' - Geraint Thomas on Patrick Lefevere's criticism of Julian Alaphilippe
Ineos Grenadiers rider says he feels sorry for his peers who are criticised in public by the Soudal Quick-Step boss
By Adam Becket Published
-
Geraint Thomas to race Giro d’Italia and Tour de France in 2024
Welshman will return to the Giro in May before heading to the French Grand Tour as part of the Ineos Grenadiers squad
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
A complete history of Ineos Grenadiers kits, from Adidas to Gobik, via Rapha
The British team switch to Gobik in 2024 after two years with Bioracer
By Tom Thewlis Published