Geraint Thomas believes that Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) are certainly beatable at the Giro d’Italia, and that the strength in depth within his Ineos Grenadiers team could give them an edge.
Roglič enters the race as arguably the outright favourite, particularly after winning both Tirreno-Adriatico and the Volta a Catalunya in recent months.
However, Thomas told Cycling Weekly at the Tour of the Alps that with his team impressing in the week-long stage race, anything is possible when the Giro arrives.
“Yeah for sure, you’ve got to believe you can beat them,” Thomas said. “Obviously they’re by far the strongest favourites with what they’ve done so far this year. But we can go in there confident, and try to do what we can.”
Thomas’ teammate Tao Geoghegan Hart has largely dominated proceedings in the Alps, winning two stages and edging ever closer to overall victory. Thomas had previously been expected to challenge for the general classification at the Giro, although the Welshman was coy when asked about his personal ambitions in May.
“I’m feeling better week-by-week, and it just feels like as the weeks go by, I’m soaking up the benefits from the work I do,” he added. “I think I’ll just go there, try and just get there in the best shape I can and then take things from there.”
With bad weather expected to hit the closing stages in the Alps, Thomas explained it could add an ‘extra dimension’ to the race.
“It's been a great start. Everyone’s been riding well, everyone’s been contributing and morale is high. Although there’s two super hard days to come, especially with the weather.”
Thomas will be one of several cards Ineos have to play at the Giro alongside the likes of Geoghegan Hart, Pavel Sivakov and Thymen Arensman. Geoghegan Hart endured a difficult two years after his Giro victory in 2020, where he suffered the effects of illness amongst other setbacks.
However, the Londoner has certainly bounced back in the early stages of the 2023 season, and Sivakov told Cycling Weekly that Geoghegan Hart possessed the “strength of champions”.
“In every sport, that's the strength of champions,” Sivakov said. “You can always bounce back, and yeah he [Geoghegan Hart] has always done that really well. In every sport, but especially cycling, it's really important to be strong mentally.”
