INEOS Grenadiers come as outsiders for the Giro d'Italia. The warm-up at the Tour of the Alps was perfect as they dominated the race and Tao Geoghegan showed his best level ahead of the Corsa Rosa. Geraint Thomas is confident that the British team is capable of challenging Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel.
“It’ll be hard to beat them but it’s not impossible. They’re two quality bike riders and amongst the best in the world in the last few years. But we’ll definitely go into the Giro with the belief that we can beat them," Thomas told Cyclingnews. “Grand Tours are about the long game and the Giro is definitely not as controlled as the Tour de France. Things like the weather can be a factor. We’ve got to use all our experience as a team and me as an individual to try to beat them.”
Thomas, who has ridden 17 Grand Tours in his career, knows a lot about how to prepare and ride across three weeks, having taken a victory in one in the past too. Sickness, crashes, poor feeding or recovery are all factors that can turn the race on it's head every single day. “That’s the great thing about the sport at the moment, there’s a lot of guys who can perform and potentially be on the Giro podium," the Welshman believes.
"At the end of the day I’m not worried about who are or aren’t the favourites and this and that. I'm just worried about myself and I’ll try to be competitive and be up there as I’ve done in the past." Thomas only completed the Giro twice back in 2008 and 2012 before being a Grand Tour contender - both his attempts in 2017 and 2020 have ended in disaster, as he abandoned both.
However INEOS are much more than just the Welshman. After a very strong spring, 2020 winner Tao Geoghegan Hart consolidates himself as a very strong contender for the pink jersey, whilst the team also has young talent Thymen Arensman, Pavel Sivakov who has also been having a strong spring, and within the supporting crew also the likes of Filippo Ganna and Laurens de Plus.
“We've also got a strong team, with Thymen [Arensman] and Pavel [Sivakov] alongside a solid core. Tao [Geoghegan Hart] obviously won in 2020 and showed his form at the Tour of the Alps. I think we can certainly be confident going in there. I’m looking forward to the Giro," Thomas concluded.
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