Team Sky will have two leaders at this year's Giro d'Italia with Mikel Landa and Geraint Thomas set to spearhead the nine-man squad. For Thomas, it will be his first chance to lead a Grand Tour team while Landa is looking to bounce back the disappointment of abandoning last year's race.
Wout Poels, who had also hinted at the possibility of riding the Giro will once again help Chris Froome at the Tour de France. Team principal Dave Brailsford believes that Landa and Thomas can ride together.
"Mikel Landa's goal was always to focus on the Giro, as it was last year. We've got a real focus for it this year as well," explained Brailsford. "I think this is a big season for Geraint, a really important season for Geraint. He won Paris-Nice last season and then he didn't perform as well as he'd like in the Tour.
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"This season I think he needs a big goal and wants to target a Grand Tour. That made sense to us, and when we saw the profile of the Giro we felt he would be capable of performing very, very well. Their qualities are different, and the way Mikel and Geraint approach and perform are different. But I think that's complimentary in a team like ours. I think they've both got targets to work for."
Landa has his breakthrough at the Giro d'Italia in 2015, where he finished third overall after supporting teammate Fabio Aru. He joined Team Sky with the express intention of leading the squad at the Italian race but quit after the opening rest day due to illness.
Thomas has not ridden the Giro d'Italia since 2012, where Team Sky's best finisher was Rigoberto Uran in seventh place. Speaking to Cyclingnews over the winter, Thomas said that he needed to take a risk with his calendar and indicated that a ride at the Giro d'Italia could be on the cards. The Welshman had protected status at last year's Tour de France, due to his performance the previous year. However, he has never been given billing as a leader at a Grand Tour.
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