Thomas defends Welsh championship

Young Welsh rider Geraint Thomas will complete a remarkable recovery from injury this weekend when he defends his Welsh Senior Road Race Championships title on Sunday, according to a report from the BBC.

The 18-year-old underwent an operation to remove his spleen after a training crash in Australia in February. The world junior scratch race champion was hospitalized after hitting a piece of road debris while training in Sydney, where he was due to compete in a round of the track world cup.

The 130km race between Llanelli, Cross Hands, Llandeilo and Carmarthen will be Thomas' first in Wales since the crash, though he recently took part in the Flèche du Sud stage race in Luxembourg as part of the Great Britain team.

With many top Welsh riders in Ireland for the FBD Insurance Ras, Thomas is the favourite to take the Welsh championship, an achievement that would make him the first rider to win consecutive championships since Bill Owen in the 1960s.