Sir Bradley Wiggins believes Ineos Grenadiers should throw their full support behind Geraint Thomas at the Tour de France, although admittedly it is unlikely his former team-mate could win a second yellow jersey.
Thomas, who won the tour in 2018, was named to the British squad’s eight-man squad on Tuesday and will share leadership duties with Daniel Martínez of Colombia and Adam Yates, born in Bury. However, Wiggins maintains that the Welshman deserves to be the team’s absolute leader at the tour, which starts on July 1 in Denmark.
In the absence of an obvious challenger for defending champion Tadej Pogacar and his Slovenian compatriot Primoz Roglic, who will arrive in good shape in Copenhagen after winning this month’s Critérium du Dauphiné, Ineos Grenadiers will start the race with multiple leaders.
“In Adam, Dani and Geraint we have three fantastic GC [general classification] heavyweights that can face a real challenge. They have proven their form throughout the season and are in great shape in Copenhagen, “said Rod Ellingworth, deputy team chief, in a statement.
“It’s going to be a big fight this year,” Wiggins told Telegraph Sport. “Hopefully between Roglic, Pogacar and of course Geraint Thomas who threw his hat in the ring with his recent Tour de Suisse success. Of course, Martínez will be a good teammate, but I think Geraint justifies that sole leadership role. Not just based on what he has done in the past as a former winner, but on his current physical form. ”
Wiggins, who will be working on the tour as part of Eurosport’s commentary team, believes you can never count Thomas. “Except for an injury or accident, he is definitely up there and you can not really discount him. As for all the others – [Australian] Ben O’Connor [of the Ag2r-Citroën team] and people like it – I mean, if we’re really honest, I do not think anyone really thinks they can win the tour. Of course, there is always a chance from outside.
“Things can happen. We can lose the top two guys in an accident or something, but I think except for injuries, accidents and things like that, from a physical point of view, it’s going to be two guys with Geraint Thomas as that third one. ”