Geraint Thomas said that all he is, “thinking about now is the Giro,” as he discussed the forthcoming Grand Tours this season.
Thomas is to compete at the Tour of the Alps in preparation for the upcoming Italian Grand Tour, the first of the season.
“Slightly but I guess all I’m thinking about now is the Giro,” Thomas said. “I tried to take it a bit steadier in the build-up and then we deal with the ‘after the Giro’ after the Giro.
“Obviously [last year’s Giro d’Italia] didn’t end the best way but with the start of the season I had I think it was still a good one, but we’ll see what this year brings.”
Thomas came second last year, behind Primoz Roglic, and led the race for eight days before being usurped by the Slovenian after a time trial, but last year he was suffered from a UTI infection.
This time, he appears healthier in the run-up to the event.
He said his form is, “slightly better hopefully. I have had a bit more consistency so looking forward to a good one.
“It’s good timing you know, with two weeks after this until the start of the Giro just to fine-tune things. But a good, hard five days of racing in the mountains is always good.”
Discussing tactics for the Tour of the Alps, Thomas was circumspect in his ambitions as he looked to discover how well set he was.
“Similar to last year, we’re looking forward to it. Some good hard racing, it’s certainly a tough race with the climbs and things, so yeah it should be a good one,” he answered.
“I’ll take what I can, every race you want to get the best result so we’ll see how the legs are and take any opportunity as they come.”