Geraint Thomas 'rolling back the years'. Primoz Roglic is 'vulnerable' – Robbie McEwen on Giro d’Italia drama

Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) is “rolling back the years” and showing form similar to when he won the Tour de France in 2018, according to Eurosport expert Robbie McEwen. The Welshman soared into the maglia rosa on Stage 16 after finishing second behind Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) as the pair combined to expose cracks in Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma). Ad Although Almeida comfortably saw off Thomas in the sprint finale to take victory and maximum bonus seconds, it was the Ineos star who moved back into pink – two days shy of his 37th birthday.

Giro d'ItaliaHow to watch Stage 17 of the Giro as Cavendish hunts sprint win2 HOURS AGO “It was rolling back the years for Geraint Thomas… from seeing him when he won the Tour de France, we haven’t seen that in a few years,” McEwen said on The Breakaway. “But this season he’s looked a lot sharper, and has that extra couple of percentage points it takes to be competitive at the very top.” Illness and injury blighted the start of his 2023 season with Thomas admitting to Eurosport he was not 100% heading into the Giro. But despite that, he looks the favourite to leave Italy draped in pink after a turbulent opening fortnight that saw Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) abandon due to Covid and Ineos co-leader Toa Geoghegan Hart fracture his hip in a crash.

On the final climb up Monte Bondone, Thomas chose to stalk Roglic, forcing the Slovenian's team-mate Sepp Kuss to close down an attack from Almeida. “Geraint was trying to put pressure on Jumbo-Visma. I spoke to [Ineos DS] Oli Cookson this morning and he said ‘we need to put pressure on them’.