"I probably would have won it as well, without trying to sound like a d*ck" - Geraint Thomas believes he 'definitely would've been 15 seconds better' at the Giro d'Italia if not for a pre-race infection
CyclingThursday, 19 October 2023 at 09:45
As the 2023 road season comes to an end, INEOS Grenadiers leader Geraint Thomas has taken time to reflect on a year of ups and downs for the Welshman.
"It feels like I had three good weeks," he recaps on his own podcast, the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club. The high point for the 37-year-old was clearly the Giro d'Italia. Despite losing the Maglia Rosa in heartbreaking circumstances to Primoz Roglic on the penultimate stage, a brutal individual time-trial up Monte Lussari.
"At the start of the year that was my main goal. It was all about the Giro," he recalls. "I think I can be happy with how it went. It actually is a sort of, year to look back on and be happy about. I'll just delete everything else from my memory except that second place in the Giro."
"If I hadn't had the run-in as I did to the Giro and that would've happened, I think I'd look back a bit less fondly but I think I probably would have won it as well, without trying to sound like a d*ck, if I didn't have that infection and missed all that groundwork. I definitely would've been 15 seconds better. Like in the opening TT I wouldn't have lost as much time as I did and all the way through it I would've been that much better."
"Anyway, you can't do anything about it. That's what happened, that's what I had so you just have to deal with it and I felt like we did," he concludes. "We got the best out of it and saved the year."
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leedorney03-06-2025
You know how is with if and if's, if Roglic would not drop chain, he would gain 15 sec.😊
He probably meant "I probably would have won if Roglic/ JV hadn't doped". He took 40 seconds out of Thomas (and everyone else) after showing no form for the previous 3 weeks. And that included a bodged bike swap. Madness. Then Vingegaard does the same to Pog at TdF. I'd like a bit of whatever JV put in their pre-TT bidon that's fo sho.
Grow up. Sometimes it is hard to swallow that your favourite riders don't win races. It is okay to struggle, but it is not okay to spit empty accusations. So, once again, grow up :)
Firstly, victor campenaerts is my favourite cyclist. He has a song about him and that (Google it).
Secondly, I'm ok with rog and jv cheating. Despite your insistence that I grow up I've lived through the festina affair, Armstrong, landis etc etc and know that doping is engrained in the sport. This doesn't detract for my enjoyment. Do I believe rog could take 40 secs, no. Do I believe vingegaard can take 1.38 from pog in a tt, nope. Can laporte go from 250th in uci rankings to top 20 in 1 season, nope. Can WvA win a double ventoux stage (waltzing away from pure climbers), a TT and sprints at tdf, hell no. Why would van hooydonk have a cardiac issue (related to doping) while driving a car and not when smashing out a 150 BP effort? Hessman? And there's lots more of examples. It doesn't add up.
Think that's a bit harsh. You have to go into a 3 week tour completely 100%. Anything like a crash or illness before starting can hinder performance. When G is 100% he is fully capable of attacking and taking risks
It's funny how everything's a possibility in retrospect.
And here i thought that his inability to take a risk, to push when his opponents were weak, lead to his loss.🙄