Geraint Thomas has indicated that he will return to the Giro d’Italia in 2023. The Ineos Grenadiers rider has endured ill fortune on his previous tilts at the Giro, with crashes forcing him to abandon the race in both 2017 and 2020.
“Back to the Giro in 2023. Hopefully, I get round this time. Can’t wait,” Thomas wrote in a post on social media on Monday evening.
Thomas placed third overall at this year’s Tour de France, but he hinted that he was unlikely to target the race in 2023 following the presentation of a route that is decidedly light on time trialling kilometres.
“I think it's disappointing there's not more [time trialling],” Thomas told Cyclingnews in Saitama in November, when he also outlined the rationale for returning to the Giro. "It's a race I've always enjoyed, even if I've crashed out the last two times I've done it. It would be nice to go back and finish it.”
Thomas completed the Giro in 2008 as a youngster at Barloworld and again in 2012 when he was preparing for the team pursuit at the London Olympics, but his two subsequent tilts at the general classification have ended in disappointment.
In 2017, Thomas was among the fallers in a mass crash caused by a parked police motorbike ahead of the summit finish on the Blockhaus and he abandoned the race in the second week. In 2020, Thomas lined up among the favourites for the pandemic-delayed Giro but his challenge was ended when he crashed in the neutralised zone on stage 3.
“In 2020 I felt in really good shape. Even one before that with the motorbike parked on the road... I really would have loved to have seen how I'd have done,” the 2018 Tour winner said last month.
The 2023 Giro features almost 70km of time trialling including flat tests in the opening week to Ortona and Cesena.
Thomas joins world champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious), Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), Filippo Ganna (Ineos) and Eddie Dunbar (BikeExchange-Jayco) in confirming his participation in the race, while it is reported that Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) will also line up.
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) has ruled out riding the 2023 Giro, while his compatriot Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) has stated that a decision on his Grand Tour plans will not be made until the New Year.
