Why the Giro d’Italia is a tougher test than the Tour de France

After Geraint Thomas was forced to abandon this week, Jack Rathborn looks at why Italy’s race could be cycling’s most formidable

The Giro poses a formidable test of cycling (AFP)

As the peloton weaved its way through the damp streets of Sicily last Monday en route to Mount Etna, Geraint Thomas’ Giro d’Italia was brought to a cruel and abrupt ending.

A seemingly innocuous water bottle was the villain this time, carelessly discarded yet incredulously lodged itself in Thomas’ wheel, send ing him tumbling towards a brutal crash and a fractured hip.

The former Tour de France winner persevered, despite crimson visible beneath his shredded lycra. His courage would sadly not be enough, with the Ineos Grenadier forced to abandon, just like he did in 2017, soon after crawling towards stage three’s spectacular finish surrounded by volcanic rock.