Thomas to miss Nationals
Welshman aiming to refind his peak form for crucial Sky support role
Geraint Thomas has confirmed that he won’t be participating in the UK Championships in the Isle of Man, focusing instead on completing his preparations for the Tour de France, where he will support Sky teammate Chris Froome.
“I don’t think I’ll do the UK Championships,” the Welshman told Cycling Weekly in the French Pyrenees during the Route du Sud. “After this race finishes we’ll go and do a recon of one of the Pyrenean stages and then it will be back to Monaco to rest up for the Tour.”
Thomas said the knee injury that forced him to abandon the Giro d’italia after stage 12 following an earlier crash has cleared up. But he admitted that it had taken him a day or two to get used to the rhythm of racing after a month away from competition.
“It’s been nice to get back into some racing and get that speed back into the legs because it’s been quite tough since the Giro to come down [from a peak of form] and then come back up again,” he said. “I feel a bit better each day. The first day I suffered a bit at the start, but things are heading in the right direction.”
Thomas added that the Girofocused programme he’s had this season was partly behind the decision to forsake a shot at the British road title, which he won in 2010. “I’ve been going well since the start of March and the main thing is to be in the best shape for the start of the Tour,” said the Welshman, who is likely to be given a certain degree of liberty in July.
Thomas’s Dutch team-mate Wout Poels was also making his return to racing at the Route du Sud. Held back by injury through the first part of the season, Poels was hoping to show during the four-day French race that he can play a prominent role in supporting Froome’s bid for a fourth Tour de France title.
“My form’s actually been quite good the first couple of days. It’s been really good to be back into racing and my legs feeling good,” Poels said prior to the key mountain stage over the Col du Tourmalet to the Cirque de Gavarnie. The Dutchman finished it 18 minutes down on stage winner Pierre Rolland after working for team-mates Kenny Elissonde and Sergio Henao. Thomas was seven minutes down.