Thomas to lead Ineos challenge at Giro d’italia
ROME: Last year’s Giro d’italia runner-up Geraint Thomas will lead the Ineos Grenadiers team at the race which starts next month, the British oufit said on Thursday.
Former Tour de France winner Thomas, 37, heads an experienced squad that he said will adopt an aggressive approach to the year’s first Grand Tour.
“The core is the same as last year’s Giro team, with some great additions for this year,” the Welshman said.
“We have spent a lot of time together at training camp; we know what we need to do and are all feeling super motivated to get the job done and deliver.”
Thomas, who finished only 14 seconds behind winner Primoz Roglic last year, will be supported in the GC batle by Dutchman Thymen Arensman, who was sixth overall last year and will again play a key role in the mountain stages.
Fellow Briton Ben Swit will serve as road captain while Italy’s Filippo Ganna will be favourite to win the two individual time trials in the 21-stage race.
American Magnus Sheffield, 22, will make his Grand Tour debut while Norwegian newcomer Tobias Foss will ride his first Grand Tour for the team since riding for Jumbo-visma.
Ecuador’s Jhonatan Narvaez, stage winner in 2020, will also add depth in the mountains.
“We’ve selected a strong, versatile lineup for this year’s Giro which will enable us to race the way we love,” said Director of Racing Steve Cummings.
“It will be three long weeks of full gas, hard racing and we know where we need to put the pressure on and where we will be able to fight for opportunities.
“In Geraint, we have one of the most experienced riders in the peloton to lead the charge to Rome.”
Thomas said he has had a slower build-up this season as he plans to ride the Giro and Tour de France.
The Giro starts in Turin on May 4 and finishes in Rome on May 26.
NYS HOLDS TOUR DE ROMANDIE LEAD: Thibau Nys grabbed the overall lead in the Tour de Romandie on Thursday when he had enough energy let to outsprint the remnants of a daylong breakaway.
The 21-year-old Belgian was part of a six-rider escape early on the 171km second stage from Fribourg to the Marecotes ski resort.
Only Nys and Andrea Vendrame were still clear when they were caught and passed by Australia’s Luke Plapp in the last kilometre. But Nys sprinted past for his first World Tour victory. Italian Vendramme was second.
“I wanted this victory so badly, I’ve worked so hard for it, I’ll remember it for the rest of my life”, said Nys, a former junior world cyclo-cross champion. His father Sven Nys won two full world titles in the discipline.
The pack, containing the race heavyweights, finished 16 seconds back.
Nys, who rides for Lidl-trek, displaced Frenchman Dorian Godon at the top of the overall classification.
The Belgian leads Vendrame of Decathlonag2r by four seconds with Plapp, of Jayco-alula, third at 22sec ahead of Friday’s 15.5km time trial.