Geraint Thomas on Covid risks at Giro d'Italia: "Just wash your hands, stay away from people and get on with it"

Geraint Thomas is ready for the Giro d'Italia. With Jumbo-Visma experiencing several Covid-19 cases that was among the biggest questions asked to INEOS yesterday at a press conference. Thomas expressed little concern for the risk the peloton goes through.

"What's the point of stressing about it, man? It’s the way it was last year. Obviously you have to be careful. But it is what it is," the Welshman said. "Just wash your hands, stay away from people and get on with it.” Although the pandemic has been ongoing for over three years and restrictions are mostly non-existing in Europe, cases have not stopped and testing positive leads to being sidelined from competition. 

Not only Jumbo-Visma but also Bahrain has suffered from it, with Gino Mäder admitting to be heartbroken after for the second consecutive time missing out on a Grand Tour due to a last-minute positive. Thomas is focusing on the competition and what lays ahead, he enters the race perhaps a bit undercooked due to illnesses he suffered earlier in the year, but that may come in handy in the final days of the race.

“The final week is where it’ll be won and lost. I’m used to sharing leadership and I think we can help each other (referring to Tao Geoghegan Hart who will also be in contention for the overall classification, ed.), we’re not too dissimilar in the way we ride up mountains. It’s a bit of a cliché but once we start racing, we’ll kind of know who’s got the best chance and how we can race as a team.

INEOS have a very strong team, counting on a lot of experience, raw power but also climbing depth. Four riders may stand chances to finish high in the GC and they may use a different strategy then that of the Tour of the Alps where they paced up all the stages in familiar fashion. Here, with the presence of Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic, they may try to anticipate and attack early in the race to put some pressure on the duo.

“I won the Tour when I was leader with Froomey or even ranked slightly below him, then for Brad (Wiggins, ed.) and Froomey it didn’t work, and it wasn’t the best atmosphere. But for us I can’t see an issue," Thomas concluded, assuring that he does not find a problem not being the sole leader of INEOS.