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"I've been drunk 12 out of the 14 nights" - Geraint Thomas on letting go and enjoying the off-season before 2024, Giro d'Italia heartbreak
CyclingTuesday, 14 November 2023 at 10:43
Geraint Thomas has talked about the Giro d'Italia heartbreak in a recent interview, alongside his off-season which has been enjoyed fully, letting go and enjoying 'normal life' before restarting training towards 2024.
"The last two weeks, honestly, I think I've been drunk 12 out of the 14 nights. Since coming back to Cardiff, it's been mad. That's the way you meet your mates. Like, 'Oh, do you want to catch up? Yeah, let's go for dinner, or just go down the pub'," Thomas said in an interview with The Times. "I don't drink during the season, apart from the odd drink, but in the off-season you let yourself go. For sure, the tolerance is lower at the start, but I feel like I have a good drinking condition now... That sticks with you and that's the way I socialize. That blowout – that real normality – is what I need, because now I'm like, 'Mate, I really need to just get on my bike and get structured.'"
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This "strategy" has worked for Thomas in the past, at 37 years of age the Welshman has hit a new peak in his career as he just finished third at the 2022 Tour de France - having at the time said he had better numbers than in 2018 where he won the race - and now second at the Giro d'Italia this year. Thomas' focus into getting back into his best form is a perhaps unusual tactic but one that he believes is helpful for his long-term performance in the sport.
Alongside this, he tells changes in recent years when it comes to his nutrition on the bike: "We still have a few low-carb rides, but now I tend to fuel the rides a lot more. Then I'm not as hungry off the bike, so I eat less. When you're riding, that's when your metabolism's working and you're just burning. That's the new thinking; it has been working."
"It's the last two years that it's really changed. In most races, we are eating 80 to 120 grams [of carbohydrates] an hour. The mindset is the biggest challenge. Having that old-school approach for so long, you're now eating quite a lot and to get your head around it was a challenge. Being able to adapt and move on with innovations, that's allowed me to stay competitive."
Other riders and coaches have in recent years argued that the increasing ability of riders to absorb carbs during races is allowing them to have superior performances - with that also becoming an aspect of training.
Lastly Thomas talks about his heartbreak at the Giro d'Italia, where he led the race for week and a half before having it taken on the final opportunity by Primoz Roglic. "On the top of [Monte Lussari], I wanted to be anywhere else in the world. It was pretty shitty," he admits. "I'd worn that jersey for so long, and then standing on the podium and seeing Roglič in it, happy, celebrating with his son, it was just, oh... so close, you know, what could have been."
"It was good there was a race the next day, though. Helping Mark Cavendish at the end was a nice way to finish. Seeing him win was nice and that put a bit of shine on what was quite a hard day," Thomas concluded.
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