Geraint Thomas has gone from track champion to Classics hardman to super domestique to Grand Tour leader, with the Welshman co-leading Team Sky at the 2017 Giro d’Italia.
The latest step in Thomas’ rise and rise in pro cycling is one he admits he could not have envisaged as a junior rider, however.
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Team Sky have released a short video, celebrating his road to the Giro, in which team-mates such as Chris Froome pay tribute to Thomas’ versatility.
Thomas has been an integral part of Froome’s three Tour de France victories, and the Kenyan-born Brit is backing the Welshman to make an impact at the Giro.
“I’d say he is one of the under-rated riders of the peloton at the moment,” Froome says in the video, above. “I really hope that this Giro turns out the way he’s planning. He deserves everything he gets in that sense and I genuinely believe in him. I think he could be right up there this year.”
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Meanwhile, Thomas, who is one of three Brits riding the Giro, is keen not to get too far ahead of himself as he reflects on his path to the top.
“It is strange to be leading the team, but at the same time it is kind of normal as well,” he says. “You definitely have to pinch yourself and think ‘wow, it’s been some journey to get here’.
“It’s the 100th Giro d’Italia but you can’t go into that. It’s just another race. But it’s not.”
Check out the full video above.
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