Giro d'Italia "unfinished business" for Geraint Thomas according to INEOS Grenadiers DS

Missing out on the Maglia Rosa by just 14 seconds to Primoz Roglic in 2023, Geraint Thomas will return to the Giro d'Italia in the coming weeks determined to go one better and claim a second Grand Tour win of his career.

“G does the Giro for a reason, right? or him, the Giro is still 'unfinished business' after last year's narrow defeat to Primoz Roglic," INEOS Grenadiers sports director, Zak Dempster says in conversation with Wielerflits. "With Tadej Pogacar at the start this time, it will of course be a complicated matter to win the race. As we all know, there are no gifts given in the Grand Tours. Usually, you just get what you deserve. All we can do is make sure we are ready for anything that might happen.”

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Alongside their Welsh leader, the INEOS Grenadiers bring a strong team to the Giro including Filippo Ganna, Thymen Arensman, Tobias Foss, Jhonatan Narvaez, Ben Swift, Connor Swift and Magnus Sheffield. According to Dempster, the strength of this collective could by the team's biggest plus point in ensuring a positive outcome at the first Grand Tour of the season.

“Last year we also had Laurens De Plus and Thymen Arensman in the top 10, a situation that we could sometimes play with. Not only in tactical jousts, but also simply in support of the leaders," Dempster explains. "These guys actually thrive in a strong team. The more leaders, the better.”

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Most notably, Arensman is seen as plan B for the INEOS Grenadiers. “We sent Thymen to the Giro through a different preparation. Very consciously. His great strength is always the third week, but if you look at the start of the Giro, it is important to be up to standard right away in a quite intense first week," Dempster explains. "That's why we thought that Romandie, which is closer to the Giro start, would be a better preparation for him.”

“Thymen has of course already been sixth in a Grand Tour twice, he already won the queen stage in the Vuelta. We have a lot of confidence in him as a Grand Tour rider within the team. He is a calm guy, talented, but not averse to hard work. These are all the ingredients that a good tour rider has," Dempster concludes. "Our plan is to keep him in the rankings and see how he can unleash his talent in the third week. His victory over Sierra Nevada seems far away, but Thymen is still very young. It is important to improve every race. Then maybe he can one day become a podium candidate. Or even more. We want to give him a platform to develop, improve his strengths and bring him to his goals in maximum form.”

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