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Former Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas is “super excited” to be returning to the Giro d’Italia, which starts on Saturday, 6 May.
Thomas, 36, has been named in the Ineos Grenadiers team for the three-week race alongside Ben Swift and Tao Geoghegan Hart.
Former Giro winner Geoghegan Hart won April’s Tour of the Alps, a race in which Thomas finished 15th.
“I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into the Giro,” said Thomas.
“The last two times I’ve been there I haven’t even finished, so hopefully I can get to Rome at the very least.”
In 2017 Thomas abandoned the Italian race as a result of injuries suffered in a pile-up involving a police motorbike.
The Welsh rider’s 2020 bid to win the race was ended by a stray drinking bottle on stage three, causing him to crash and fracture a hip.
Thomas has also faced disruption this season due to illness.
The 2018 Tour de France winner suffered an infection in January at Australia’s Tour Down Under and subsequently missed both the Volta ao Algarve and Tirreno-Adriatico before returning to finish 45th in March’s Volta Ciclista a Catalunya.
“Obviously, this year has been a bit stop-start but I’m on the right track and coming into some shape just in time, with all the boys going super-well too,” said Thomas.
“We had a good camp at Sierra Nevada and then the Tour of the Alps obviously went really well, so morale is high.
“Everyone’s confident and we’re just looking forward to racing now.”
Thomas has previously hinted that 2023 might be his final year as a professional cyclist but in January said he was putting off a decision on potential retirement because he was “still enjoying it”.
Neither has he yet ruled out a return to the 2023 Tour de France despite being disappointed with a lack of time-trialling in July’s race.
Seemingly more suited to Thomas, the Giro provides three opportunities to race against the clock, starting on Saturday with a 19.6km time trial in Fossacesia Marina in the Abruzzo region.
“I just want to enjoy it,” said Thomas.
“As a junior, the thought of even going to the Giro with a group of lads all trying to perform at our absolute best…I would have been super-excited, so I’m looking forward to going there, soaking it up and getting stuck in.
“It’ll be nice having Swifty [Ben Swift] on the team too – we’ve been racing together since we were like 10 or 11 on bike paths around parks.
“Hopefully we have the chance to enjoy it, because it’s a tough race and the end’s obviously super hard.
“The last week’s going to decide it so I’m looking forward to getting there, getting into the race and giving it everything with the lads.”
Geoghegan Hart will start as one of the favourites for the first of this year’s Grand Tours, which finishes on Sunday, 28 May in Rome.
The 2020 Giro d’Italia winner finished third in two short stage races this year before his Tour of the Alps success, where he won the opening two stages on the way to overall victory,
“I’ve been in good form and have just been enjoying racing with my teammates,” said Geoghan Hart.
“Riding well at Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour of the Alps has been great, but also satisfying to reward the hard work and dedication of my teammates and our amazing staff.
“This group has spent a large amount of time together and so we’ll go into the race with great morale and confidence to make the most of the three weeks awaiting us.”
