Thomas settles on race for second

Ineos Grenadiers rider decides not to follow Pogačar, the rider from a "different planet"

- Adam Becket

It must be a strange Giro d’Italia for Geraint Thomas. The Ineos Grenadiers rider is second on general classification and he is having one of the races of his career. However, he is over six minutes behind Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), who leads in pink.

Last Sunday, on stage 15, Thomas defended his second place on general classification ably, matching Dani Martínez (Bora-Hansgrohe) in third.

On his podcast, Watts Occurring, the Welshman explained to fellow Ineos rider Luke Rowe that he had made a decision not to chase Pogačar in order not to blow up and lose his second place.

“I didn’t feel great, to be honest,” he said. “It’s so much of a head game, this sport. I tried to stay strong, I knew I would come good. Sure enough I did feel better in the final. When UAE started ramping it, it was obvious Pog was going to go. If I tried to follow I could follow for a bit, and then blow up and lose 10 minutes.