“I was a mess: white trainers covered in mud, blood on my hands — and I’d been sitting in a car” - Geraint Thomas given brutal introduction to new INEOS role on Opening Weekend

Opening Weekend always delivers chaos, but for Geraint Thomas the 2026 edition came with an entirely new perspective. No longer battling in the peloton after retiring from racing at the end of last season, the former Tour de France winner watched Omloop Het Nieuwsblad unfold from the INEOS Grenadiers team car. What he saw left a vivid impression.

“I got back on the bus after Omloop, and I was a mess: white trainers covered in mud, drink mix everywhere, blood on my hands — and I’d been sitting in a car,” Thomas and Luke Rowe recalled on the latest episode of the Watts Occurring podcast. “That’s classics racing for you.”

The image summed up the brutality of Opening Weekend.

Freezing temperatures, crosswinds and relentless positioning battles turned Omloop Het Nieuwsblad into a race defined less by terrain and more by chaos in the peloton.

Thomas now works as Director of Racing at INEOS Grenadiers, a role that places him alongside the team’s leadership group, helping shape race strategy and preparation. It meant that, for the first time in his long career around the Spring Classics, he was witnessing the carnage of Belgian racing from the sidelines rather than the saddle.

Rowe knows the feeling well. The former Welsh road captain retired in 2024 and is now a sports director with the Decathlon CMA CGM Team, directing races from the team car rather than the front of the peloton.

Both men spent the podcast reflecting on just how chaotic Opening Weekend had been.

“Omloop was freezing,” Rowe explained. “Nine degrees but it felt like zero with the wind. What’s mad is the wind didn’t split it. The climbs didn’t split it. The cobbles didn’t split it. Crashes split it.”

The constant pressure to hold position only added to the tension inside the bunch.

“No matter how far forward you think you are, it still feels like you’re behind,” Rowe continued. “That pressure causes more crashes.”

One of those incidents came at a decisive moment of the race. As the peloton charged towards the Molenberg, a crash near the front shattered the field and immediately put large sections of the bunch on the back foot.

“Into the key moment on the Molenberg there’s a crash near the front,” Rowe said. “Van der Poel somehow stays upright. A few get through and everyone else is immediately on the back foot.”

Even without the incident, the Alpecin leader already looked unstoppable.

“And honestly, crash or no crash, it felt like only one guy was winning,” Rowe added. “Van der Poel looked completely in control. He went on the big climb and it was instantly game over. I haven’t checked the times but he looked a million dollars.”

Thomas also highlighted how quickly races can turn against a team during the classics, pointing to INEOS Grenadiers’ own difficult afternoon.

“INEOS had a nightmare run,” he said. “Crashes, people held up, and Ben Turner ends up alone for that crucial run-in to the Molenberg. That’s brutal — positioning yourself for five kilometres on your own and then still having legs for the climb. Fair play to him for hanging in.”

The Omloop finale also sparked debate about the tactics of Florian Vermeersch, who rode strongly alongside Van der Poel in the front group but later faced criticism for contributing too much to the chase.

Thomas admitted he was surprised by how much work the Belgian put in. “I still think: do a bit less,” he said. “Don’t do 50/50 — do 25/75 or 70/30. Save something for later.”

Rowe, however, argued that the situation is rarely so simple inside the race.

“He’s had flack for it, but it’s complicated,” Rowe explained. “A small group goes, they catch the break, and suddenly you’re in that situation. If you don’t contribute, you risk coming back to a bigger chase group and losing your shot at the podium.”

Team dynamics also play a major role.

“The other factor is team situation,” Rowe added. “One team had a sprinter behind, another didn’t. If you haven’t got a sprinter and you’re in the front group, you’re basically forced to commit to that move.”

The following day’s Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne produced a very different outcome but a similarly unpredictable race. Visma | Lease a Bike’s Matthew Brennan emerged victorious after a selective day that eliminated many of the pre-race sprint favourites.

“Brennan absolutely smoked them,” Rowe said. “We knew he was legit, but that win is huge.”

Thomas explained how the race developed into a difficult scenario for many of the sport’s fastest finishers.

“The climbs came mid race and Kuurne is always balanced between a breakaway, a reduced group or the sprinters coming back,” he said. “But with that forecast they were never coming back.”

Dropped riders simply never regained contact once the crosswinds began to bite. “The last hour was flat but most of it was crosswind,” Thomas added. “They got dropped on one of the climbs and never looked like closing it.”

Even teams that executed their strategy well were left frustrated by how the final kilometres unfolded.

“This race was one of the most frustrating I’ve ever been at,” Thomas admitted. “We did exactly what we said we’d do — stay alive through the climbs, follow the moves but don’t do anything stupid, and then really light it up in the crosswinds late.”

The plan worked almost perfectly until the decisive moment.

“But in the last five kilometres, we got hesitant, sat back slightly, and it never came back. Tobias didn’t get a chance to sprint. That’s what hurts — you get days where the stars align, and everything clicks, and it’s there.”

Rowe also pointed to the impressive return of Christophe Laporte, who finished fourth in Omloop before playing a key role in Visma’s Kuurne victory.

“Laporte surprised me,” Rowe said. “Fourth in Omloop and then the winning lead-out in Kuurne, ripping it up in the crosswinds. After being out for most of last year it’s good to see someone like that bounce back.”

Thomas agreed, adding that even fierce rivals never like to see careers interrupted by injury. “Even if he’s on a rival team, you don’t want to see someone lose a whole season like that,” he said. “Credit to him.”

The discussion also touched on the knock-on effect of injuries already shaping the early Classics campaign. “Tim Wellens broke his collarbone,” Rowe noted. “That’s a big one looking ahead to Sanremo. You lose key helpers, and it changes how you can race Cipressa and Poggio.”

For Thomas, the events of Opening Weekend underlined just how brutal this period of the season can be. “Months of work and then suddenly it’s gone,” he said.

Watching from the team car rather than racing himself only reinforced that reality. Even without turning a pedal, the Welshman found himself covered in the evidence of how unforgiving the Spring Classics can be.