Team Sky coach Tim Kerrison is adamant that Geraint Thomas has what it takes to win this year’s Giro d’Italia.
The bold claim comes a month after the Welshman confirmed that he would target the maglia rosa in his first attempt at riding GC at a three-week race. Thomas finished 15th in the last two editions of the Tour de France while riding in support of Chris Froome, but the Giro is his first opportunity to fully commit to riding for himself in a Grand Tour. He will share leadership at the race with teammate Mikel Landa, but Kerrison believes that the timing was right for Thomas to have his chance.
“We sat down at the beginning of December and the sports directors responsible for each of the Grand Tours presented what they knew about the routes,” Kerrison told Cyclingnews in a recent phone interview. “We went through them stage-by-stage and looked at the demands. At the end of that meeting I asked them, ‘out of everyone in the peloton, and in our team, who is best suited to this Giro?’ Other than Chris, obviously, Geraint was the next name that came up.”
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Thomas’s long-term aim is to challenge at the Tour de France. In order to reach the point where he can consider a leadership role at the race for Team Sky he must perform at the Giro d’Italia. Team Sky’s history at the Giro d’Italia does not bode well for the ambitious all-rounder. Bradley Wiggins, Richie Porte and Landa have all tried and failed to lead the team to success in the race, while Rigoberto Uran’s second place in 2013 only came after Wiggins abandoned.
“We’d love to be better in the Giro. We’ve got Pinarello, Sky Italia, and Castelli, who would love us to be more competitive. Other than Uran, when he was second, we’ve not been as successful as we would have liked. We prioritise the Tour above all else in terms of recruitment and selection. In doing that there’s always going to be a cost for events that aren’t in our Tour stream. But we think that we’ve got a strong enough team to have a good crack.”
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