Geraint Thomas: What next for after latest heartbreak?
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Updated 08/10/2020 at 18:22 GMT
Geraint Thomas' withdrawal from the Giro d'Italia just three days into the race draws a curtain down on a season of setbacks for the Welshman. Can Thomas bounce back from this for Ineos Grenadiers or, like teammate Chris Froome, will he have to look elsewhere in the twilight of his career? Felix Lowe investigates.
Geraint Thomas suffers during Stage 3 of the Giro d'Italia 2020
Image credit: Getty Images
On the morning after his latest Giro torment, Geraint Thomas was keen to take to the start of Stage 4 in Catania. The Welshman had shipped 12 minutes after crashing heavily in the neutral zone and fading on the approach to Mount Etna on Monday. But a new day brought fresh hope. Momentarily.
"I was really up for starting today," he said. "I woke up and wanted to start with the boys and at least help them go for stages over the next few days, but deep down I knew something wasn't right, so we went to get these extra scans."
Thomas' bike was set up outside the team bus in Catania and awaiting its owner on the static trainer. But the warm-up never came after those scans revealed that Thomas had fractured a bone in his pelvis.
Having famously ridden the entire 2013 Tour de France after fracturing his pelvis in a crash in the opening stage, Thomas quite understandably lacked the appetite for more of the same.
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Videos show crash which ended Geraint Thomas's Giro dream
"It does make the decision easier when there's a fracture in some ways, because obviously I don't want to do any more damage," he said.
It's so frustrating. I'd put so much work into this race. I did everything I could and feel like I was in just as good, if not better shape, than when I won the Tour [in 2018]. I was feeling really good. So for it just to end like this is gutting.
With Thomas withdrawing after a fall ahead of the first big climb of the race, there were echoes of 2017 when the Briton was given a rare chance to lead Team Sky at the Giro, only to crash out on the road to Blockhaus thanks to a badly parked motorcycle.
A race vehicle three years ago was replaced by an errant water bottle this time round, as Thomas' cruel run of bad luck in Italy continued – prompting Eurosport pundit Brian Smith to muse: "He must have some kind of curse because that was a freak accident – no one else crashed at that point."
This latest pelvis fracture is likely to spell the end to what has been an annus horribilis for Thomas. His initial post-coronavirus plans to ride the Tour de France followed by the cobbled classics were put paid by the decision from Ineos to omit the 34-year-old from the squad supporting Egan Bernal in France off the back of his poor performance in the Critérium du Daphiné.
And any hopes that Thomas' exit from the Giro could re-open the doors to his beloved cobbles at the Tour of Flanders (18 October) or Paris-Roubaix (25 October) now looks unwise given the severity of his injuries. Indeed, Thomas confirmed this week – after teammate Filippo Ganna's second stage win breathed fresh life into the troubled Ineos Gannadiers – that he will not ride again this year, which rules out any outside chance of a season-saving tilt at the Vuelta, which starts on 20 October.
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WATCH: Disaster for Thomas as his Giro goes up in smoke at base of Mount Etna
So, what next for G?
Thomas' last-ditch replacement at the Tour, Richard Carapaz, will join the departing Chris Froome for Ineos at the Vuelta. But Thomas and Bernal will be watching from home. The Colombian, like Thomas, has called time on his season; both of their years have been a write-off.
While Bernal is tied down to a long-term contract and possesses the attributes to suggest he could still become a multiple Grand Tour winner for Ineos, Thomas only has one year left on his contract with the British team. With Froome set to join Israel Start-Up Nation for 2021, there will still be a place on the team for a rider of Thomas' experience and calibre.
If 2020 has reminded David Brailsford of anything it's the need to enter the Tour de France with a viable back-up option – so we can probably expect a return to the Tour next year for Thomas alongside Bernal, provided the Welshman is prepared to ride to a role.
Given his succession of bad luck in Italy, you can imagine that Thomas will have little interest to return to the Giro next year, which leaves the Vuelta as, perhaps, his only race as designated leader. Earlier in the season, Brailsford may allow his man to compete in the cobbled classics provided Thomas promises to support Bernal in July. It's all conjecture at this point.
A refocusing on the cobbles classics which once were Thomas' bread and butter may be the most sensible option – gruelling, tactical, multi-faceted races which require six hours of concentration and effort rather than three weeks of pain, dedication and torment.
If Mat Hayman can win the Hell of the North aged 37 – while denying the record Roubaix winner of all time – then surely a rider of Thomas' quality could also go the distance, with a bit of work and a lot of luck.
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Salvatore Puccio of Italy and Team INEOS Grenadiers / Geraint Thomas of The United Kingdom and Team INEOS Grenadiers
Image credit: Getty Images
But will Ineos prolong Thomas' contract beyond 2021? A lot may depend on his performances next year. He will be 35 by the time the next Tour comes along – and the focus of the team is now very much looking towards the future.
With the likes of Bernal (23), Eddie Dunbar (24), Tao Geoghegan Hart (25), Pavel Sivakov (23), Ivan Sosa (22) and, soon, Tom Pidcock (21) and Laurens de Plus (25), Ineos are not in short supply of young, exciting talent – although Thomas is a proven winner who could still ride competitively while acting as a mentor for the next generation.
Would Thomas be prepared to do this? If the Welshman feels like he still has what it takes to win races like the Tour and the Giro, then perhaps he will have to look elsewhere to fulfil his ambitions.
Where could Thomas go?
It's unlikely that Israel Start-Up Nation could afford to take Thomas onto a wage bill that had been stretched by Froome, even if the prospect of the two Ineos old-timers teaming up once again would be appealing for most concerned.
Team Sunweb look quite short following Tom Dumoulin's departure and even if they have added Romain Bardet for 2021, there could be an opening for someone of Thomas' experience. But could they afford him? Probably not. This could also act against Mitchelton-Scott, for whom Thomas could well fill the hole left by Adam Yates, whose impending arrival at Ineos is another reason why Thomas may consider looking elsewhere.
That leaves perhaps two viable escape routes: Astana or UAE-Team Emirates.
Reports in Gazzetta dello Sport suggest that Movistar are willing to offer the Dane Jakob Fuglsang a two-year deal; with Miguel Angel Lopez tipped to join AG2R La Mondiale and the Russian tyro Aleksandr Vlasov already linked with a big-money move to Ineos (yet another reason for G to up-sticks), Astana could see Thomas as a good short-term option ahead of a rebuild.
As for the UAE team of Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar, the Slovenian's yellow jersey triumph is all the more reason for his employers to strengthen while they can. After all, Pogacar's victory in France was largely an individual effort in defiance of the mightily impressive Jumbo-Visma train. For continued success, Pogacar will need a reliable set of mountain domestiques – and Thomas could fit the bill provided he is given assurances over protected status in other races.
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Geraint Thomas of The United Kingdom and Team INEOS Grenadiers Disappointment / Etna (1793m) / during the 103rd Giro d'Italia 2020, Stage Three a 150km stage from Enna to Etna-Linguaglossa Piano Provenzana 1793m / @girodiitalia / #Giro / on October 05, 20
Image credit: Getty Images
It all comes down to Thomas' ambitions going forward. Does he still think he can win the Tour? Does he have unfinished business with the Giro or has that ship now sailed? Does he want to focus on the classics? Is he prepared to return to riding in support of others?
These questions are probably the last thing going through his mind right now as he comes to terms with the latest blow 2020 has delivered him. Thomas' priority now will be to heal up and get ready for what he hopes will be a more orthodox season in 2021. With Richie Porte returning to Ineos, perhaps Thomas will feel he can roll back the years.
Time will tell if Thomas has the form or desire to stay on at Ineos beyond his current contract; you sense that, if he could, he would, for, inherently, he doesn't seem to be a big risk-taker. But, as with Froome, if someone else comes calling with a good offer, he'd be a fool not to take it. Perhaps a bit of change would do him good.
While he flirted with a return to the Giro on social media this week, there is, of course, another option for Thomas: retirement.
Having won the world's biggest bike race and been a vital component of the team who has won it multiple times, no one would begrudge Thomas for deciding enough was enough. The Welshman has recently become a father and he probably won't find playing happy families with a yet another broken pelvis any fun.
So why not give his all in 2021 before riding off into the sunset? Thomas has some important decisions to make this winter. His recovery – and the complexion of the rest of his career – starts now.
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