As one of the most thoroughbred all-rounders in the pro peloton, Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) has somewhat of a peculiar structure to his calendar.
At the start of 2015 he was in prime shape for the early-season stage races, achieving notable success in winning the Volta ao Algarve and finishing fifth at Paris-Nice. Then it was time to become a genuine Classics specialist, capable of mixing it with the hard men who gear their seasons around the grueling one-day races, and beating them too.
After that it was time to shed the bulk put on over the spring and get back into the swing of stage racing. As someone who is able to excel across the board, it can be a difficult transition to make mentally.
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“At the start of the year I was going into Paris-Nice and Algarve climbing well and feeling good there, and part of you just wants to commit to stage racing. But then you go and do the Classics and carry that form through, get some results there, and it’s like ‘ah the Classics are awesome – I don’t want to give these up’,” Thomas told Cyclingnews.
“It’s pretty tough; it feels like I should try to settle on one thing but I just enjoy both of them to be honest. When you’re racing in the front, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a one-day in Belgium in the wind or in the heat in France up some mountain.”
As well as the psychological adjustments Thomas has to make, the physical transitions have been just as tough. The Welshman took a week off after Paris-Roubaix before a tentative reintroduction to stage racing at the Tour de Romandie – which he describes as a “shock to the system” – followed by training time in Tenerife and Monaco.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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