THE 100th Giro d’Italia should be the one to tell us what the rest of Geraint Thomas’ career looks like.

 

The two-time Olympic gold medallist on the track converted himself to a road star with Team Sky, albeit one whose stand-out performances came in one-day classics.

But his role as a super-domestique for Chris Froome in the past couple of years has convinced Thomas he can be a contender in the biggest races of all, and his chance to prove it comes when the battle for pink starts in Sardinia tomorrow.

The 30-year-old Thomas heads to Italy with joint leadership of Sky alongside Spaniard Mikel Landa, and a chance to emulate Sir Bradley Wiggins in going from track star to Grand Tour winner.

“My preparation has gone really well and I’m ready,” said Thomas, who won the Tour of the Alps last month in his final tune-up. “I can’t wait to get there now.”

As dominant as Sky have been in the Tour de France, their tilts at the Giro to date have all been ill-fated – Wiggins suffered crashes, illness and mechanical issues before withdrawing in 2013, Richie Porte was essentially knocked out of contention on stage 10 in 2015 after taking illegal assistance for a puncture, and Landa fell ill early in last year’s race.

But their team selection this year shows they are fully committed as Italian sprinter Elia Viviani was left out of his home race.

“We’ve looked at the challenges this edition of the Giro presents and picked a team which we believe can fully support both of our leaders,” team principal Sir Dave Brailsford said.

“The last week of this Giro will be particularly demanding and the severity of those stages will be determining factors, so making sure we have climbing support in the high mountains has been a key consideration.”

Organisers have gone big with the parcours for the landmark edition. After Sardinia, the race will visit Sicily and Mount Etna before heading to the mainland, where the peloton will be asked to tackle famed climbs including the Blockhaus, Mortirolo, and the Stelvio (twice) before the finish in Milan on May 28.

Given the logistical challenges of long transfers between the islands and the significant wait between blocks of climbing, managing a general classification bid looks particularly difficult this year.

The man favourite to do it ahead of Thomas and all others is Movistar’s Nairo Quintana, the 2014 Giro winner who will race both here and in the Tour de France this year – an ambitious double in which the balance seems most likely to lean the Giro’s way.

“It’s a huge challenge,” the Colombian said. “We have never taken such a gamble before, yet we feel we’re on the right path to success, training adequately to peak at both of them.

“I’m confident, since I’ve contested for the win in two Grand Tours in the same year before – I didn’t win both, but I’ve made the podium.”

Vincenzo Nibali, who won last year’s Giro in dramatic fashion as he clawed back almost five minutes in just two days of racing to dislodge first Steven Kruiswijk and then Esteban Chaves, may be tempted to make an early move on home roads in Sicily, but it could come at a cost.

The 33-year-old will be lining up for Bahrain-Merida, a new WorldTour team built almost entirely around him but one which may not yet have the resources to defend pink from such an early stage.

Unfortunately for fans of rivalries, Nibali’s former team-mate Fabio Aru will not take the start, and his Astana team will line-up with heavy hearts and no clear focus after the death of Michele Scarponi, the 2011 Giro winner, who was killed last month when knocked off his bike while training. Organisers have announced the Mortirolo climb with be named in honour of Scarponi.