Geraint Thomas' build-up to the Giro d’Italia is back on track after a stint of altitude training, and with the Tour of the Alps his final race before the Italian Grand Tour, the Welshman believes that he has learned valuable lessons from a disappointing ride in last month’s Volta a Catalunya.
Thomas took a pasting at the Catalan race, cracking on the key mountain stage before being caught out alongside his Team Sky teammate, Chris Froome, when several riders launched an audacious mass attack on the penultimate stage. Thomas went into Catalunya as Team Sky’s nominated leader after a strong start to the season. The heavy defeat could have severely dented his Giro hopes, but the Welshman has had time to digest the outcome of finishing 34th overall, calling it a much-needed reality check.
“The race was okay but I had a bit of a shitty day on the big mountain stage and mentally I cracked a bit when I was dropped by the lead group,” Thomas told Cyclingnews during a rest day at his Tenerife training camp.
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“I definitely learnt a few things about myself and how to approach the Giro and then on the Saturday stage we lost time as a team. That went even worse. That was screwed up but I came out of the race with a good workload, training-wise.”
Thomas had risen to third on GC after stage 3, and looked on course to challenge Alejandro Valverde for the win. Two days later Valverde stamped his authority on the race, winning on the slopes of Lo Port as Thomas lost over a minute. That defeat came out of the blue for a rider who made the top five in Tirreno-Adriatico, where he won a stage and was Nairo Quintana’s closest opposition on the ascent of the Terminillo.
“That day in Catalunya, I learnt to focus on myself and not let people either up the road or behind influence me,” Thomas told Cyclingnews.
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