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Ineos Grenadiers and Geraint Thomas plan to be a thorn in the side of Tadej Pogačar and the Slovenian’s quest to win the Giro d’Italia.
The 2018 Tour de France winner will be part of a deep Ineos Grenadiers squad heading to the Italian grand tour with the ambitions of disrupting the apple cart.
“Obviously Tadej Pogačar is the pre-race favorite and has a strong team around him, and that changes the dynamic of the race a bit,” Thomas said. “But that also means all eyes will be on him over three long weeks of hard racing.
“Our plan is to be aggressive, take the race on and look for every opportunity to add pressure and take time.”
Thomas, 37, could be Pogačar’s most dangerous rival.
The team also brings Thymen Arensman and Tobias Foss — both former top-10 Giro finishers — as well as Filippo Ganna and Jhonatan Narváez. Magnus Sheffield will make his grand tour debut.
“It will be three long weeks of full gas, hard racing and we know where we need to put the pressure on, and where we will be able to fight for opportunities,” said director of racing Steve Cummings. “We’ve selected a strong, versatile line-up for this year’s Giro d’Italia which will enable us to race the way we love.”
Magnus Sheffield makes ‘important step’ in Giro debut
Are Thomas and Ineos Grenadiers up to the task of trying to stop the Pogačar freight train?
Of all the major GC contenders, Thomas is perhaps the most dangerous.
Second last year to Primož Roglič, Thomas has a love-hate relationship with the Giro. He did not finish in 2017 or in 2020 in two earlier bids for pink. Things went much better last year until he lost the lead in the decisive climbing time trial stage in the Dolomites and lost to Roglič by just 14 seconds.
“My preparation has gone well and I’m feeling in a great place ahead of the start,” Thomas said. “We know what we need to do and are all feeling super motivated to get the job done and deliver.”
So far in 2024, Thomas hasn’t shown much in terms of results, but he’s also planning on racing the Tour de France later this summer, so he’s been on a slower training plan to hit full strength mid-season.
“With the plan to race the Giro and then go straight into the Tour, there has been a different approach and slower build-up this season,” he said. “But I am feeling good and not thinking beyond the coming weeks in Italy. My only focus now is the Giro and arriving there in my best shape possible.”
Arensman and Foss will give the team extra options for the GC, while Jhonatan Narváez, a stage-winner in 2020, and Ben and Connor Swift, who are cousins, fill out the roster.
Sheffield makes his highly anticipate grand tour debut, and the American will be learning the ropes, helping Thomas, and perhaps have a chance to chase a stage win.
“The American has impressed in one-week stage races, as well as on the time trial bike, and now takes the next important step in his career in Turin,” officials said.
Cummings said the team “loves racing in Italy,” and will hold nothing back in the quest for pink. Ineos Grenadiers has won the Giro three times, first in 2018 with Chris Froome, again with Tao Geoghegan Hart in 2020, and again in 2021 with Egan Bernal.
Thomas and Ben Swift are two remaining legacy riders from the team’s glory days.
“In Geraint, we have one of the most experienced riders in the peloton to lead the charge to Rome. He is a proven winner, a brilliant bike rider and a great leader,” he said.
“In the general classification, we have three riders who have all finished in the top 10 at this race, so we go into it feeling confident in the depth and experience within the group,” Cummings said. “There will be the battle for GC with six summit finishes but there will also be plenty of chances of stage wins especially with two time trials.”
Can Ineos Grenadiers — once the mightiest team in the peloton — crack the Pogačar code?
So far in 2024, the Slovenian slayer has been all but unbeatable.