Geraint Thomas: Ex-Tour de France winner eyes Giro d’Italia glory

The quiet contentment of an elite athlete coming to the end of the road, you might think. And, to some extent, you might be right. Thomas seems liberated by the relative lack of expectations for this race.

Do not be fooled, though. Tadej Pogacar, prodigiously talented and twice a Tour de France champion, may well be the overwhelming favourite in Italy but Thomas, next best according to most bookmakers, believes he could yet win a second Grand Tour.

“I think on paper he [Pogacar] is definitely the strongest but, as we all know, in any sport, a lot can happen. A lot can go right, go wrong and you’ve got to believe you’ve got a chance,” Thomas says.

“Otherwise there’s no point even turning up, it would be a waste of time. So yeah, we’re confident that we’ve got a strong team and we can do something in this race.”

Thomas is used to confounding the odds. He won the 2018 Tour de France despite not starting the race as his team’s leader and, as he finished third in Paris four years later, he took great satisfaction in “proving a few people wrong”.

When he lines up for Saturday’s first stage of the Giro in Turin, where doubters are concerned, Thomas will not be wasting any of his precious energy.