Geraint Thomas is considering switching his Grand Tour intentions to the Giro d’Italia as Team Ineos attempt to juggle three Tour de France champions for 2020.
The Welshman won the Tour in 2018 and finished second in his defence earlier this year. However, with 2019 champion Egan Bernal likely to return for the number one bib next season and Chris Froome after a record-equalling fifth yellow jersey, Thomas has started to look towards other goals.
‘You’d think Egan would want to ride the Tour again, obviously, being the defending champ. Froomey, it’s his big goal, he wants to win five,’ said Thomas. ‘Even if I did the Giro, it would still certainly excite me and get me out of bed in the morning.’
Thomas added that he would be keen to see the routes of both the Giro and the Tour before any decision.
‘I’m definitely not going to make a call until at least December training camp, sit down with the team. Obviously, we’ll be chatting to them before that anyway, but maybe make a call around then really.’
Team Ineos‘s own strength may prove its greatest problem in 2020.
The British WorldTour team will boast the services of the three most recent Tour champions and will have to make a decision as to who is afforded the backing of the team in France next July.
The team will likely race with two team leaders, as they have done for the previous two editions, but this will still leave one disappointed rider, with Thomas even admitting a three-pronged attack being ‘too much’.
Thomas is most likely to miss the cut and with him seemingly the most open to ride the Giro, it looks likely this is where he will need to be focused next season.
The Welshman previously targeted the General Classification at the Giro in 2017 but was forced to abandon on Stage 13 after crashing into a police motorbike on Stage 9 to Blockhaus.
If Thomas does opt for Italy, things will still not be so straight forward. This is because Ineos are due to attain the services of current Giro champion Richard Carapaz from Movistar over the winter.
The Ecuadorian will likely return to defend his title meaning Thomas will have to form part of another two-leader approach, although it is something he believes can work.
‘I think two does work and has worked for the last two years. As long as we keep that same philosophy. I’ll look at both the routes and see what motivates me and see what the other guys are thinking as well. And then just go from there.’
With time not necessarily on the side of the 33-year-old, the Welshman is also considering jumping back into the Spring Classics.
Thomas previously experienced success there with a victory at E3 Harelbeke and top 10s at Paris-Roubaix and Gent-Wevelgem, however he’s more recently been focused on stage racing.
While his immediate future lies with competing in Grand Tours, he does envisage revisiting the cobbled races before the end of his career.
‘Another year or two and then for sure [I’ll focus on one-day races]. I’m looking forward to going back to Flanders and Roubaix and those races, and maybe the Worlds.’