Geraint Thomas could be riding his last season on the road, although it seems as if he's changing his mind. The outcome of the upcoming Giro d'Italia may be decisive for his future, and he discusses the obstacles he had in preparation and also why he chose not to ride the Tour de France.
“You never reflect when you're busy racing, but when you get closer to the end of your career, you do look back at what you’ve done. Yet I don’t want to rest on my laurels, I always need to push forward," Thomas said in an extensive interview with Cyclingnews. "There are people in the team trying to move up, but you want to stay in front of them, in a healthy competition kind of way. I still want to keep performing and that includes at the Giro.”
The 2018 Tour de France winner seemed to have ended the prime of his career but bounced back amazingly last summer as he took the victory at the Tour de Suisse and completed the Tour podium alongside Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar. In a field that is currently climbing faster than what the Welshman did five years ago it was a result perhaps just as impressive, as at 36 years of age he retains an incredibly high level. He hopes to have the same legs again soon at the Corsa Rosa, but his past with the race is not as bright.
“I’ve only been unlucky twice and hopefully it’s not three times. It’s just the way things go; there are ups and downs and certainly in my career, that’s what makes the ups even sweeter," he says. Both in 2017 and 2020 he aimed for the pink jersey but abandoned the race. He last completed the Giro back in 2012. "Hopefully 2023 is a good year, that’s the plan. I want to at least finish the thing. I also want to try to enjoy it all and hopefully be right up there, in the thick of the race."
However Thomas does not let the bad luck of the past get to him, and he focused on the Italian race since the winter, seeing how much more the route favoured him. “I just love racing in Italy as well," he admits too. "It’s where it started for me as a pro and I love it all: the fans, the food and the atmosphere. It's a different style of racing compared to the Tour and it's a bit less intense as well.”
After racing the Tour Down Under he returned to preparation but was hampered by illnesses That saw him only return to competition at the Volta a Catalunya, but in very modest form. “The problems and antibiotics stalled me a bit, but I’ve done everything I can," he explains. "All I can do is keep working hard and get to the start line in the best shape I can, then go from there. With the way the last week of the Giro is, we know that so much can happen there.”
He now rode the Tour of the Alps as a final racing step towards the Giro, where he finished 15th but showed good signs as he assisted Tao Geoghegan Hart to overall victory. INEOS was in control of the whole race, however next month the competition will be different. For Thomas to fight for the overall classification he will need to take another step in terms of his form, but there is no urgency yet as the Giro is set to be decided in a brutal final week. The extensive time-trialing kilometers early on will suit him - although the likes of Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic will enjoy them too.
“It's a hard route for sure, the last week is super hard, but I knew it would be. It's got three time trials but the last one is really just up a mountain, so it's not a real time trial is it? The first two are good to have in the Giro. I love a time trial in a Grand Tour, I feel like they deserve a place, that’s why I was disappointed with the Tour de France route," he concluded. The Tour features only just over 20 kilometers against the clock which are mountainous, and the challenges present at the Giro made it an obvious choice for the INEOS Grenadiers rider.
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