Geraint Thomas: 'I hope I've got all my bad luck out of the way before the Giro d'Italia'

With his shot at the Giro d'Italia GC now less than six weeks away, Geraint Thomas says that he hopes all his bad luck is out of the way after missing out in Tirreno-Adriatico and the Volta a Catalunya.

Thomas finished fifth in Tirreno-Adriatico after losing time in the opening team time trial due to the collapse of Gianni Moscon's wheel, and then lost more than 26 minutes on the penultimate day of the Volta a Catalunya when he and the rest of Team Sky missed a split early in the stage.

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"The time losses on Saturday [at the Volta a Catalunya] were just down to a mistake by us," Thomas said. "We were in the wrong part of the group when the race split, we ended up having to chase and that was it.

"I said after the team time trial in Tirreno that it would be nice to get all my bad luck out the way early on and have all the luck in the world at the Giro."

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Speaking to the Team Sky website after finishing the Volta a Catalunya, Thomas said that he was happy with his form heading towards his first opportunity to lead a team in a Grand Tour, and had learned a lot from his experiences in Spain.

"I had a bit of a bad day on the main mountain stage. I learned a few things there, though - not just about how I coped physically but also mentally.

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"I think I can take quite a lot from that, because I’ve rarely been in those positions. The more times I can be in those positions before the Giro the better, so it’s all positive in a round-about way.'

Thomas's next race will be the Tour of the Alps (April 17-21) - formerly known as the Giro del Trentino - before heading to the Giro d'Italia two weeks later.