Thomas set for time trial before Italian job
GERAINT Thomas will get a final tune-up for the Giro d’italia when he races in the men’s time trial at the UCI Road World Championships today.
Thomas said he was keen to ride for Great Britain this weekend before the Giro came on to his agenda.
But with the Italian Grand Tour including three time trials – starting with the opening stage to Palermo a week on Saturday – the reorganised world championships in Imola are the ideal preparation.
“Obviously it plays a big part,” Thomas said. “But at the same time, I would have wanted to do them anyway just because I rarely get a chance to race – I’ve never done the World time trial for a start.
“I’m always on my knees by the end of the season after a typical year. But obviously this is anything but.
“I’m feeling pretty good and I would have wanted to do the TT anyway but obviously having three TTS at the Giro gives an extra importance to it.”
It is now a little over a month since the surprise announcement came that Thomas had missed out on selection for the Tour de France as the Ineos Grenadiers lined up behind defending champion
Egan Bernal. The Welshman had made clear his disappointment, but said his frustration was as much with himself and his lack of form To be honest I was over it pretty quickly,” he said. “The initial disappointment was more that it was just the first real time I’d not hit my target for the year.
“I knew I wasn’t in the shape to challenge for the win, that was the disappointing thing.” The announcement came after the 2018 Tour winner had looked off the pace at the Criterium du Dauphine the week before. The 34-year-old admitted he went into that race carrying too much weight, but his second place overall behind Simon Yates in Tirreno-adriatico earlier this month suggests he is moving in the right direction.
Thomas said he hopes to be “there or thereabouts” in today’s time trial but feels he needed the 31.7km circuit – which starts and finishes at the home of the San Marino Grand Prix – to have included more climbing to really suit him.
Instead, he pointed to his Ineos team-mates Filippo Ganna and Rohan Dennis – the latter the defending champion – as favourites alongside JumboVisma’s Tom Dumoulin and Wout van Aert who both arrive in Imola from the Tour de France.
I knew I wasn’t in the shape to challenge for the win, that was the disappointing thing. Geraint Thomas