10/05/2024

"Just giving it out to people on Twitter? Get a life" - Geraint Thomas lashes out at social media critics of INEOS Grenadiers' Giro tactics

Geraint Thomas has been arguably Tadej Pogacar's strongest competitor in the early portion of the 2024 Giro d'Italia. Online however, there has been some criticism of the INEOS Grenadiers tactics, something Thomas took issue with on the latest episode of his Watts Occurring podcast.

"I was on the massage table yesterday with Marko, and I ended up clicking on X (Twitter), and the first thing to pop up was this dude – I won't mention his name because I don't want to give him any extra hits – and he's just bagging the team, like 'Why are INEOS riding now? They're just doing UAE's job'," Thomas rants in conversation with his teammate and compatriot, Luke Rowe on their podcast. "When you're at the front, you can control the speed, you know you've only got two or three guys in front of you, rather than 50. There's just less things that can go wrong, isn't there? That was the plan. That's what we did."

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Clearly annoyed by the comments, Thomas blasts the social media critics as 'numpties'. "There are so many people who are like, 'Ah Pog's winning. Pog's going to do this, do that. Why are they even doing this? Blah, blah, blah,'" he continues. "And it's like, guys, have you ever done anything in your life that's really pushed you to the extreme, that you've really committed to and given everything to, and not been scared of failing? Or do you just go about your mundane life, in your mundane job, just giving it out to people on Twitter? Get a life, you know what I mean?"

"Everyone here knows that Pog is a phenomenal rider, but you've still got to try," the former Tour de France winner, who sits second in the GC of the 2024 Giro d'Italia at time of writing. "You've still got to come here and give it your best. Everyone gets here in the best shape they can and tries to get the best result. Knocking people just because they're not winning, or they're not beating this phenomenal guy… Give over. Get a life."