Geraint Thomas is to lead an "aggressive" Ineos Grenadiers team at the Giro d'Italia 2024, as the British squad became the first to announce their lineup for the Italian Grand Tour.
The 37-year-old, who finished second behind Primož Roglič at last years event, is to return to the Giro aiming for the top spot in a season which will also see him tackle the Tour de France , it was officially announced on Thursday.
In his way will be another Slovenian, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), who is also aiming for a historic Giro-Tour double .
Thomas will be joined by Thymen Arensman, Filippo Ganna , Magnus Sheffield, Tobias Foss , Jhonatan Narvaéz, Ben Swift and Connor Swift for Ineos Grenadiers. Thomas, Foss, and Arensman have all previously finished in the top 10 at the race, while Ganna is a six-time stage winner at his home Grand Tour.
"My preparation has gone well and I’m feeling in a great place ahead of the start. We have a strong line-up and there is a good bond with this group," Thomas said in the Ineos press release. "The core is the same as last year’s Giro team, with some great additions for this year. We have spent a lot of time together at training camp; we know what we need to do and are all feeling super motivated to get the job done and deliver.
"Obviously Tadej Pogačar is the pre-race favourite and has a strong team around him, and that changes the dynamic of the race a bit," he continued. "But that also means all eyes will be on him over three long weeks of hard racing. Our plan is to be aggressive, take the race on and look for every opportunity to add pressure and take time."
"We’ve selected a strong, versatile line-up for this year’s Giro d’Italia which will enable us to race the way we love," Steve Cummings, Ineos' director of racing, said. "It will be three long weeks of full gas, hard racing and we know where we need to put the pressure on, and where we will be able to fight for opportunities.
"In Geraint, we have one of the most experienced riders in the peloton to lead the charge to Rome. He is a proven winner, a brilliant bike rider and a great leader."
The race begins next Saturday in Turin, with 21 stages across Italy over the next month, including six summit finishes and two individual time trials.
Eight men are allowed in each squad, with a mix of climbers, sprinters, general classification hopefuls and domestiques .
We will update this page with more riders as teams are announced.
Giro d'Italia 2024 start list
Ineos Grenadiers
THOMAS Geraint (GBr)
ARENSMAN Thymen (Ned)
FOSS Tobias (Nor)
GANNA Filippo (Ita)
NARVÁEZ Jhonatan (Ecu)
SHEFFIELD Magnus (USA)
SWIFT Ben (GBr)
SWIFT Connor (GBr)
Alpecin-Deceuninck
Arkéa-B&B Hotels
Astana-Qazaqstan
Bahrain-Victorious
Bora-Hansgrohe
Cofidis
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
dsm-firmenich PostNL
EF Education-EasyPost
Groupama-FDJ
Jayco-AlUla
Intermarché-Wanty
Israel-Premier Tech
Lidl-Trek
Movistar
Polti Kometa
Soudal Quick-Step
Tudor
UAE Team Emirates
POGAČAR Tadej (Slo)
Visma-Lease a Bike
VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè
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