Geraint Thomas had been set to line up at the Volta ao Algarve this week, but the Welshman was absent from rainy Portimão on Wednesday morning, opting instead to extend his training camp in the USA.
The primary reason is illness, with Thomas suffering a minor infection ahead of last month’s Tour Down Under, and a repeat of the same issue shortly after it.
Thomas will now make his European season debut at Tirreno-Adriatico in early March, with the Volta a Catalunya likely to be added to his schedule to top up his racing load ahead of the Giro d’Italia.
“Geraint’s all right. He’s in a good rhythm and routine so we just decided we’d keep him doing what he’s doing for now,” Ineos Grenadiers‘ deputy team principal, Rod Ellingworth, told Cyclingnews.
Thomas has been laying the foundations for the Giro in globetrotting fashion, heading to New Zealand for 10 days before arriving early last week in Los Angeles, California, where he has spent previous winters training alongside teammate and triathlete Cameron Wurf.
Thomas has now decided to extend his stay in the USA by just under a week before returning to his home in Monaco ahead of the start of Tirreno-Adriatico on March 6.
“He’s all right. He just had a bit of illness before TDU, rode TDU and was fine, but afterwards had another little repeat of the same thing,” Ellingworth explained.
“He never felt really ill with it but something wasn’t quite right. Now he’s absolutely fine. He’s been doing some great work in LA with Cam, who’s sort of his sparring partner out there, so since he was in a good routine we thought ‘ok let’s keep him there’.”
The change of plan will have a knock-on effect on Thomas’ racing calendar. Tirreno-Adriatico remains, but the Volta a Catalunya now looks much more likely than the initial preference of the Settimana Coppi e Bartali in late March.
Running two stages longer – at seven – and with a heavier parcours to boot, the Volta would give him more of the racing intensity he is missing out on in the Algarve.
“Tirreno will be his first race, and now there’s a discussion about whether he does Catalunya,” Ellingworth said. “That or Coppi Bartali were always part of the plan, but he may go to Catalunya now to make up for what he’s missed.”
Thomas is still well on track for the Giro d’Italia in May, where he’ll lead the line for Ineos Grenadiers after his podium finish in last year’s Tour de France.
“We’re not looking past the Giro at the moment,” Ellingworth said. “He’s in good spirits, he’s up for…
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