Geraint Thomas feels consistency is key to fending off Primoz Roglic and Joao Almeida for Giro d'Italia win

Published 25/05/2023 at 17:14 GMT

The Giro d’Italia is bubbling up nicely as the general classification riders prepare for a massive day in the mountains on Friday. Geraint Thomas of Ineos Grenadiers will start Stage 19 in the pink jersey after repelling an attack from Primoz Roglic on Stage 18. Thomas will begin the day with a 29-second lead over his rival from Jumbo-Visma. Joao Almeida is 10 seconds further back.

'Good day to not get dropped by Primoz' - Thomas relieved to hold off Roglic

Geraint Thomas was delighted with how he weathered an attack from Primoz Roglic on Stage 18 of the Giro d'Italia, as he protected his race lead.

Roglic shipped time on Tuesday to suggest he was not at his best, but two days on, the Slovenian put his Jumbo-Visma team to work before launching an attack on the penultimate climb of the day.

Joao Almeida started the day in second place, but the UAE Team Emirates leader could not hold the wheel and lost time on the day.

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Thomas responded to Roglic’s surge and shadowed him all the way to the finish at Val di Zoldo to retain his advantage with three stages of the race to go.

Roglic will begin Friday’s tough stage 29 seconds adrift of Thomas, and the Ineos Grenadiers man will start the day in a positive frame of mind.

"It was a decent day to gain time on Almeida and not get dropped by Primoz,” Thomas told Eurosport.

"It was a good day, a solid day for sure. I felt pretty in control.

"Primoz, he likes to go hard, take it easy, go hard. I gave him a few turns and was not sure how he was feeling, and in the last 2k he squeezed on. He was super strong and I was happy with how I was.”

Thomas has seen his two rivals for the pink jersey suffer a bad day each in the final week, and the Welshman - who celebrated his 37th birthday with a cake at Thursday’s pre-race presentation - is looking to avoid one of his own.

“It is nice [to hold the lead], but Primoz had a bad day the other day, Almeida today,” Thomas said. “I have just got to be consistent and take it day by day, climb by climb.”