Thomas To Miss UK Champs To Prepare For Tour

Welshman aiming to refind his peak form for crucial Sky support role

- Peter Cossins

Geraint Thomas has confirmed that he won’t be participating in the UK Championships in the Isle of Man, focusing instead on completing his preparations for the Tour de France, where he will support Sky teammate Chris Froome.

“I don’t think I’ll do the UK Championships,” the Welshman told Cycling Weekly in the French Pyrenees during the Route du Sud. “After this race finishes we’ll go and do a recon of one of the Pyrenean stages and then it will be back to Monaco to rest up for the Tour.”

Thomas said the knee injury that forced him to abandon the Giro d’Italia after stage 12 following an earlier crash has cleared up. But he admitted that it had taken him a day or two to get used to the rhythm of racing after a month away from competition.

“It’s been nice to get back into some racing and get that speed back into the legs because it’s been quite tough since the Giro to come down [from a peak of form] and then come back up again,” he said. “I feel a bit better each day. The first day I suffered a bit at the start, but things are heading in the right direction.”