Geraint Thomas primed for redemption at Giro d’Italia after ‘strange year'

The Welshman hopes to add the pink jersey to his yellow jersey won in style at the 2018 Tour de France

Geraint Thomas is in for a battle to win his second Grand Tour at the Giro d’Italia, starting this Saturday with the individual time trial.

Thomas will lead the Ineos Grenadiers in an eight-man squad, supported by two British riders Tao Geoghegan Hart and Ben Swift, as well as Rohan Dennis, Jonathon Castroviejo, and the new time trial world champion Filippo Ganna.

The Welshman goes into the race as the bookmakers’ favourite after taking fourth place in the World Time Trial Championships last week and finishing second overall at Tirreno-Adriatico behind fellow Brit Simon Yates.

Yates will be leading the Mitchelton-Scott team and looks to rival Thomas as a British favourite.

Other contenders include Steven Kruijswijk of Jumbo-Visma, Astana's Jakob Fuglsang and two-time winner Vincenzo Nibali of Trek-Segafredo.  

Geraint Thomas in action during the men elite individual time trial in Imola, Italy (Getty)

The opening 15km time trial on Saturday from Monreale to Palmero on the island of Sicily is set to be the first of three time trials across the three weeks – a format that favours Thomas’ superior time trialling ability.

Stage 14 features the second time trial of the Giro, with 34km to Valdobbiadene, and the final one comes on the last day, running 15.7km into Milan.  

However, the race will still feature over 40,000m of climbing across 50 classified climbs and five summit finishes in the Italian mountains.

The weather will also be another challenge for the riders after the Giro was rescheduled from its usual May slot to October because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Geraint Thomas in action in Imola, Emilia-Romagna, Italy (AFP)

Several of the summit finishes of the stages are already covered in snow, which could mean some stages may be re-routed or cancelled all together.  

Thomas was also a favourite for the maglia rosa when he last rode the Giro in 2017, only to be forced to abandon the race after sustaining injuries from a crash with a police motorbike.  

After a disappointing Tour de France for Ineos Grenadiers, which saw their leader Egan Bernal abandon race, Thomas, as the 2018 Tour winner, has proven he has what it takes to get another Grand Tour win under his belt with help from some of the strongest riders the team has to offer.  

Thomas said: “I’m excited to lead the team again in Italy and I feel ready. It’s been a strange year for everyone but it’s great to have this big objective. The legs are feeling good, Tirreno went well and then the World Time Trial was a confidence booster for me. Now stage one is nearly here and I’m more motivated than ever.

“I have a long association with Italy – I’ve lived here, I’ve raced for an Italian team, and I had some rough luck the last time I came to the Giro. I’m determined to right that wrong this time around. We’re taking a great team and I’ve got total faith in the guys around me.”

General Manager of Ineos Grenadiers Sir Dave Brailsford said: “Geraint has worked hard to get to this point, and it’s been energising for the whole team to see how he’s responded to the challenge of leading us at the Giro.  

“He’s a true champion and I know he’s up for this fight. We’ve thought a lot about the right riders to support Geraint in Italy. We think we have a group that is really well balanced and has the right mix of skills to get the job done.”

Eurosport will have live coverage of the Giro d’Italia each day from 1pm