"Geraint Thomas is on a par with Tadej Pogacar" insists INEOS Grenadiers teammate Magnus Sheffield

Although Tadej Pogacar does already have a 46-second advantage in the general classification, the Giro d'Italia isn't quite the one-horse race many predicted. Proving to be the Slovenian's most viable challenger in the early stages, INEOS Grenadiers leader, Geraint Thomas.

"We knew 'G' was going to be good. It's great that he's been able to show that in the past couple of stages and I'd say he's on a par with Tadej Pogacar, challenging him for the Maglia Rosa," insists Thomas' INEOS Grenadiers teammate, and Grand Tour debutant, Magnus Sheffield in conversation with Cycling News. "For me, it's still about focusing on stages in the second and third week, and also on time trials."

"I'm struck by how calm and level-headed he is, especially when things start to get a bit hectic, like on the first stage, because I don't know if people were quite expecting things to kick off like that," Sheffield continues, with the 22-year-old American full of praise for his team leader. "He's super calm and cool when the pressure's on. I think his demeanour is something to really learn from. I just want to take every opportunity to support him as well as possible, because a big part of his career before he became a leader was also supporting his teammates 100%."

In the fight for the Maglia Rosa though, Sheffield believes he may have found an area that INEOS have the advantage over UAE Team Emirates. "If you saw the way we rode the final on Monday, we invest early," Sheffield explains. "We had five, six guys in front in the final five kilometres. We were prepared to be there, and it was really good that G was there to follow him in the final. And you see also that Pogacar only has a few teammates in these finals, so he can be isolated quite quickly."

With stage 6 likely to be the next day with possible GC ramifications, the strength of the INEOS Grenadiers team could be key for Thomas. "It is a Strade Bianche stage, but it's actually only about 12km of these white roads, so I think it depends on what the early breakaway looks like," Sheffield concludes. "It's an important stage to get right because also the time trial is right afterwards. But the first priority is making sure G is where he needs to be."