Geraint Thomas wore a skinsuit for Strade Bianche but stuck to his trusted white Oakley Jawbones glasses(Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Geraint Thomas (Team Sky)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Geraint Thomas speaks to reporters at the Tirreno-Adriatico press conference(Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
Geraint Thomas on the eve of Tirreno-Adriatico(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Reigning Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) had to abandon a spell of altitude training in the Teide in Tenerife, Spain, early this week because of exceptionally bad weather.
Snow, rain and gale-force winds hit the Canaries earlier this week after a relatively mild, dry winter, with pictures posted on Instagram of deep snow on the higher parts of one of Europe’s most popular holiday destinations - because of its usual warm weather.
Given training was impossible, Thomas has had to return to his home in Monaco to continue training there.
Team sources told Cyclingnews on Saturday that Thomas’ race program will not be affected by the bad weather. Having pulled out of Tirreno-Adriatico because of illness, the 2018 Tour winner is next due to race in the Vuelta al País Vasco, which starts on April 8th.
Although the temperatures at sea level are set to be comparatively balmy 15 degrees for this week, snow and rain are forecast for all of next week for the mountains in Tenerife, with snowfalls to down to at least 2,200 meters above sea level. Teide, the island’s main mountain, rises to 3,700 meters.
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Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews, he has also written for The Independent, The Guardian, ProCycling, The Express and Reuters.
