Resurgence: Geraint Thomas recently won the Tour de Suisse
(Picture: REUTERS)Geraint Thomas will become Ineos Grenadiers’ team leader for this year’s Tour de France following his surprise Tour de Suisse victory.
The 2018 Tour de France winner has enjoyed a resurgence in form this season and will bid for a second yellow jersey and to derail Tadej Pogacar’s bid for a hat-trick of Tour de France titles.
Pogacar remains the form Grand Tour rider but, speaking after his Swiss win, Thomas said a strength of star riders was the best bet for Ineos Grenadiers to end that period of dominance.
There are four British riders in all within the team’s line-up, including Adam Yates, Luke Rowe and Olympic mountain bike gold medallist Tom Pidcock. The team is rounded off by Dani Martinez, Jonathan Castroviejo, Filippo Ganna and Dylan van Baarle.
Announcing the squad, team principal Dave Brailsford said: “The competition this year is tougher than ever and that’s a great thing for the sport, the Tour and the fans.
“But we all know that anything can happen in cycling especially over three weeks of hard racing across different terrains and weather conditions. This group of Grenadiers is the epitome of all that Ineos stands for.
“They have the grit, rigour and humour that we know is critical to success at the Tour and we can’t wait to get racing.”
