A sort of homecoming. Geraint Thomas’ first day in the maglia rosa of the Giro d’Italia brought him to Tuscany, where he spent some formative years during his cycling apprenticeship and through conditions more reminiscent of so many teenaged training rides in the hinterland of Cardiff.
“I left Wales when I was 20 to get away from the weather,” Thomas smiled after reaching Viareggio safely in the main peloton at the end of a sodden stage 10, his two-second lead over Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) still intact.
