Geraint Thomas believes Primož Roglič and Remco Evenepoel are beatable at Giro d’Italia
Welshman says that Ineos Grenadiers can go into race full of confidence after excellent Tour of the Alps start
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.”
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
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.”
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
Tom joined Cycling Weekly in early 2022 and his news stories, rider interviews and features appear both online and in the magazine.
He has reported from some of professional cycling's biggest races and events including the Tour de France and the recent Glasgow World Championships. He has also covered races elsewhere across the world and interviewed some of the sport's top riders.
When not writing news scoops from the WorldTour, or covering stories from elsewhere in the domestic professional scene, he reports on goings on at bike shops up and down the UK, where he is based when not out on the road at races. He has also appeared on the Radio Cycling podcast.
-
Customizable titanium race bikes without the eye-watering price tag: Blackheart's Road Ti bike reviewed
The Road Ti offers that calm and refined feel for a fraction of the cost of other titanium racing bikes.
By Greg Kaplan Published
-
Kasia Niewiadoma wins La Flèche Wallonne, first road victory for five years
The Canyon-Sram rider took her first road victory for five years on the Mur de Huy
By Adam Becket 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
-
'I got left out' - How one contractless pro is fighting to get back to the WorldTour
Giro d'Italia stage winner Lukas Pöstlberger might be without a team, but he's determined to get back to the top
By Tom Davidson Published
-
'We're fighting all the time to be in front': Is cycling more dangerous nowadays? We asked the pros
'We need to show some good sense and realise that it's not worth winning at any price,' said one rider
By Tom Davidson Published
-
'I spent five weeks on the sofa': How Tobias Foss overcame illness and got back to winning ways
At the Tour of the Alps, the Ineos Grenadiers rider took his first victory since becoming time trial world champion in 2022. The 19 months in between proved a bumpy ride
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Primož Roglič to miss Liège-Bastogne-Liège in order to recover for Tour de France
Slovenian was caught up in the horror crash on stage four of Itzulia Basque country
By Adam Becket Published
-
Wout van Aert to miss Giro d'Italia due to injuries suffered at Dwars door Vlaanderen
The Visma-Lease a Bike rider was set to ride the Italian Grand Tour for the first time
By Adam Becket Published
-
Jonas Vingegaard, Primož Roglič and Remco Evenepoel caught up in huge crash at Itzulia Basque Country
Race neutralised as horror crash sees three of the favourites caught up in incident
By Adam Becket 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