Doubting Thomas

What kind of races should Geraint Thomas target in his final seasons? It’s not certain whether he knows himself

In considering the legacies of the three British riders nearing the end of their careers, Geraint Thomas is not quite in the same category as Chris Froome and Mark Cavendish and arguably has less to lose in his final couple of seasons.

As an all-round rider, Thomas could excel on the boards of the velodrome, where he was an Olympic champion, over the cobbles of the Classics and in the time-trials and high mountains of the Grand Tours. Yet he dedicated the best part of his career to the Grand Tours, which paid off with his Tour de France win in 2018 but also came at a considerable cost. He crashed out of the Giro in 2017 and 2020 and the Tour in 2017 and 2021.

In the final chapter of his career could he focus once again on the Classics, as many would like to see? Or will the likely absence of Egan Bernal, after the Colombian’s terrible crash in January, make the lure of leading his team one more time at the Tour irresistible?