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Geraint Thomas has confirmed he’ll race each the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France in 2024, his 18th season within the skilled peloton.
The 37-year-old Welshman revealed his 2024 objectives throughout an Instagram Stay Q&A with Matt Stephens from an altitude coaching camp at Mount Teide on Tenerife within the Canary Islands.
He returns to the Giro d’Italia after narrowly shedding the maglia rosa and general victory in 2023 to Primož Roglič on the penultimate stage mountain time trial, whereas his final look on the Tour was in 2022 the place he completed on the rostrum behind Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar. Thomas will conflict with Pogačar on the 2024 Giro.
“I am mainly going to journey the Giro and the Tour,” stated Thomas.
“I actually wished to return to the Giro after final 12 months and provides it one other huge go. And clearly the Tour, I did not like lacking it final 12 months. So I’ll attempt to keep on it and go into the Tour and attempt to get the very best end result, or go into it in the very best form.”
Thomas prolonged his time with Ineos Grenadiers till 2025 after signing a brand new contract in October that can see his time on the British squad span 16 years.
Confirmed alongside him on the Tour de France for the British workforce might be Tom Pidcock and Carlos Rodríguez, with each additionally hoping to problem the general GC.
Rodríguez was fifth ultimately 12 months’s race and took a stage win whereas Pidcock appeared stable within the prime ten till stage 14 when he misplaced over eight minutes to the favourites.
Thomas revealed his restricted race programme previous the 2 Grand Excursions with a season debut on the Volta ao Algarve in February, adopted by two extra weeks of stage racing on the Volta a Catalunya and Tour of the Alps. He may even head to an altitude camp in Sierra Nevada to arrange for his summer time objectives.
“It’ll be an enormous problem as a result of I’ve by no means executed it earlier than. Properly I did it in ’17 however I crashed out of each, so hopefully, will probably be a bit higher than that,” he laughed.
“It is a huge problem, it is my 18th 12 months as knowledgeable so I want to combine it up a bit. It is one thing which will definitely get me off the bed within the morning.”
Thomas revealed how the now-former workforce principal of Ineos Grenadiers, Sir Dave Brailsford, was concerned within the technique of going to each after prolonged discussions throughout the workforce.
“It acquired to a stage the place I used to be identical to, ‘Can we simply determine now please,’” Thomas laughed after admitting “It had all the time been behind my thoughts since final 12 months actually.”
“It undoubtedly excites me. It undoubtedly makes me anxious as properly, however I believe you want that – properly I want that anyway – I believe it is advisable to be beneath a little bit of strain and to know that it is a huge deal to race these two.”
Thomas rode two Grand Excursions in 2023 with out overwhelming success following a powerful displaying on the Giro. His second-ever look on the Vuelta was lacklustre by his requirements as a sequence of crashes and unhealthy luck within the first week ended his GC hopes.
He might be relishing the pair of time trials on provide at each Grand Excursions in 2024, with the ultimate stage of this 12 months’s Tour additionally ending on dwelling roads away from dwelling. Stage 21 begins in Monaco, the place Thomas resides, for an uphill time trial into Good.
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