What did I miss? Christmas news round-up🎄🎅
Geraint Thomas targets Tour, Joe Pidcock joins Q36.5, Giro heads to Albania, and crash hits dsm-firmenich
Hi Subscribers,
If, like me, you took five minutes off during Christmas, you may have missed the latest news from around the cycling world.
Never fear; I’ve pooled together all the major headlines from the last few days in this bite-sized rundown of stories, and we’ll return to normal service on the Substack tomorrow.
Hope you’ve had a great holiday!
Daniel
Geraint Thomas returns to the Tour de France 🇫🇷
After two seasons representing Ineos Grenadiers at the Giro d’Italia and picking up the team’s best Grand Tour results in recent years, Geraint Thomas aims to race the Tour de France in his final season in the pro ranks.
Thomas confirmed on Christmas Eve that he would start 2025 at the Tour Down Under before heading to the Volta ao Algarve and then “a few stage races” in the spring before building up with the Tour with Catalunya and Tirreno-Adriatico possibly on the menu.
The last time he raced the Tour in 2022, Thomas warmed up with the Basque Country, Tour de Romandie and then the Tour de Suisse before finishing third in July. That was the last time Ineos posted a rider on the Tour podium.
The Welshman also confirmed that he would skip the Spring Classics in 2025 before hanging up his wheels at the end of the season. A return to the cobbles was something Thomas always weighed up during the off-season, but the 38-year-old felt that his final year didn’t need the risk associated with Flanders and Roubaix.
“The Classics are just too crazy for me now. You’ve got to be prepared to crash, and I’m not sure that I’ve got the minerals for that anymore. I’d love to do one more Tour, maybe the Tour of Britain, to finish it off,” he said.
Read more: John Allert's to-do list for 2025
Post-retirement, Thomas’ plans are still unclear, but we’ve heard that the top brass at Ineos - not the cycling team - are keen to see the Welshman form part of the senior management once he stops racing. Team owner Jim Ratcliffe remains a huge fan of the former Tour winner, and Thomas has already been on management calls/meetings.