"It would be nice to go back there after this year" - Geraint Thomas hints Giro-Tour double could be on the cards for him in 2024

Geraint Thomas came within just 14 seconds of becoming the oldest Giro d'Italia winner of all time earlier this year. Holding the Maglia Rosa until the penultimate stage, the race has left the Welshman with a sense of unfinished business despite initial plans to ride the Tour de France in 2024.

"The Giro is classic Giro really," says the 37-year-old, INEOS Grenadiers leader, analysing the reveal of the profiles and route of the opening Grand Tour of 2024 on his show, the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club podcast. "It would be nice to go back there after this year, but then at the same time, the Tour de France is quite appealing."

The Tour de France has long been the Grand Tour most synonymous with the career of Geraint Thomas. The Welshman was first a super-domestique helping Chris Froome to repeated Maillot Jaune victories before winning the race himself in 2018. After missing the Tour through choice for the first time since 2012 this year, it is expected Thomas will return in 2024.

"It finishes in Nice, the last stage is a time trial from Monaco to Nice. It’s a bloody hard TT though," Thomas says. "Those last few days of the Tour, I think stage 19 we finish up some hard climb, the Saturday is hard and then the final day is a mountain TT more or less. The sprinters will just have to suffer around for three days!"