Photographic proof it didn't rain for ALL of stage one @Tour_de_Pologne 😅 Stage 2⃣ will be an undulating 202km, with an uphill finish to test the Grenadiers. We get underway at 12:35pm BST 👊
"Everything is a bonus now" - No pressure for Geraint Thomas as he uses Tour de Pologne to measure Vuelta form
CyclingSunday, 30 July 2023 at 14:27
Over two months since his last race day, Geraint Thomas returns to the peloton. After a surprising and very strong Giro d'Italia where he led for many days and finished second in the overall classification, he now starts the second half of his season at the Tour de Pologne where he is setting up the Vuelta a Espana.
“Everything is a bonus now. I had a turbulent spring and still managed to ride a good Giro," Thomas told Wielerflits this morning at the start of stage 2. "The form I had there has given me a boost. Of course it was disappointing to lose the pink jersey on the penultimate day, but I can draw confidence from the Giro.”
The Welshman remained out of competition for a long time, recovering from a hard spring of work and then training towards the Vuelta. Alongside several teammates he's spent a few weeks training in altitude in Andorra, and has now came down to Pologne as his main preparation race. He teams up with Pavel Sivakov, Thymen Arensman and Laurens de Plus who were his key domestiques at the Giro and may have the same role in Spain.
“In the Vuelta we will see what happens. I am now here at the start of the Tour de Pologne to work on the intensity of the race and to prepare myself as optimally as possible for the Vuelta. I have also been on altitude training in recent weeks," he concludes. This afternoon's stage features a difficult summit finish where INEOS Grenadiers will have a good idea of where their climbers stand.
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