Chris Froome's decision to ride the 2018 Giro d'Italia after carefully considering the (reported) two million compelling reasons to do so will undoubtedly have an impact on the racing schedules of his Grand Tour rivals next season, but perhaps the greatest effect of all will be on a Team Sky teammate who, at 31 years of age, is running out of time to launch his career as a Grand Tour contender in earnest. Where does it leave Geraint Thomas?
The Welshman is now one of only three survivors from the roster for Sky’s debut season in 2010 – Froome and Ian Stannard are the others – and over the past eight seasons, he has been deployed in just about every role, in the manner of Phil Neville during his time at Manchester United. In the early years, with Sky and British Cycling so tightly bound as to be almost indistinguishable, Thomas toggled between road and track in preparation for the London 2012 Olympics. As the seasons progressed, he would complete a full Classics campaign – only occasionally as an outright leader – and then slot into a key role in the praetorian guard supporting Froome at the Tour de France.
In the spring of 2017, as manager Dave Brailsford evaded media questioning over the series of scandals that threatened the very existence of the team, and as Froome maintained a loaded silence, Thomas even seemed to be pressed into the role of de facto team spokesman, as he rarely shied away from fielding questions from reporters outside the Sky bus.
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Such loyalty was to be rewarded by a genuine tilt at leadership of Team Sky at a Grand Tour, and Thomas duly lined out at the 2017 Giro as the team’s co-captain alongside Mikel Landa. Although Thomas was hardly a favourite for overall victory – his best three-week placing, after all, is 15th at the 2015 and 2016 Tours – victory in the preceding Tour of the Alps meant that he entered the race with some confidence.
Not for the first time in his career, however, Thomas endured ill fortune on the big occasion. A crash at the base of the Blockhaus cost him all hopes of a high overall finish, and he eventually abandoned the Giro in week two. There was further disappointment at the Tour, where joy at claiming the opening stage of the race was tempered by another crash and abandon on stage 9.
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