Geraint Thomas rues 'frustrating' end to Giro d'Italia

Ineos Grenadiers rider led by 26 seconds going into the penultimate stage but ended up 14 seconds behind Primož Roglič 

- Adam Becket

It is, as they say, the hope that kills you. For Geraint Thomas to get so close to winning the Giro d’Italia – 48 hours, in fact – and still lose, was gutting for the Welshman.

On Friday evening the Ineos Grenadiers rider was 26 seconds up on Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), and sitting atop the general classification on stage 19. Just 24 hours later, after an incredibly difficult mountain time trial, the positions were flipped, with Roglič gaining 40 seconds on his Welsh rival, and thus winning the Giro d’Italia, his fourth Grand Tour title, while Thomas had to settle for his second runner-up spot over three weeks.

Roglič and Thomas were even on time on the flat section of the decisive time trial, and despite a slow bike change from the latter, there was still not much in it, but as the gradient increased, Thomas slipped behind. Not even Roglič’s chain coming off could prevent his victory.

“It was so close, so close,” Thomas said post-final stage in Rome last Sunday. “It’s still frustrating, I think, just because of the way I rode it, with the wheels falling off a bit in the last three or four K. If I’d ridden it differently – if I’d started slowly and finished strong – I’d still have lost the same time, but it might feel a little different.