Thomas seized his opportunity in mountain stage: "Felt like Primoz wasn't a hundred percent"

Geraint Thomas is back in the pink jersey after the sixteenth stage of the Giro d'Italia, finishing at Monte Bondone. The leader of INEOS Grenadiers gained time on his main rival Primoz Roglic. However, Thomas had to leave the stage victory to João Almeida.

And that did bother the man from Wales a bit. "I would have liked to win the stage, but we had to keep riding. I couldn't afford a cat-and-mouse game with Roglic behind us. Unfortunately, Almeida won the sprint, but it's nice to wear the pink jersey again and to have gained time," Thomas says in the flash interview.

Including the bonus, Thomas extended his lead over Roglic by 27 seconds, meaning the difference between the two is now 29 seconds. Therefore, Almeida is now Thomas' closest competitor. The Portuguese rider of UAE Team Emirates is currently 18 seconds behind the INEOS rider.

Thomas is not underestimating Almeida. "Almeida has always been a big rival. He has shown how strong he is. His team is also very strong, but that's not surprising."

Thomas also faces setback with Sivakov's withdrawal

Favorites Almeida, Thomas and Roglic were performing similarly for a significant part of the climb. After Almeida attacked, Sepp Kuss controlled the pace for Roglic, who had a difficult moment after a steep turn. "I had the feeling that Roglic wasn't a hundred percent," Thomas later said at the press conference about that moment when he seized the opportunity to drop Roglic.

The pink jersey and the time gained on Roglic made it a positive day for Thomas, who also faced a setback. His teammate Pavel Sivakov had to abandon the race due to the consequences of a previous crash. "Losing a strong rider like Pavel is clearly not ideal. He was an important part of the team," Thomas stated.