Last-minute Giro d’Italia participant Thomas Gloag ‘barely awake’ but delighted with opportunity

ORTONA ITALY MAY 06 Thomas Gloag of The United Kingdom and Team JumboVisma sprints during the 106th Giro dItalia 2023 Stage 1 a 196km individual time trial from Fossacesia Marina to Ortona UCIWT on May 06 2023 in Ortona Italy Photo by Tim de WaeleGetty Images
Thomas Gloag of Jumbo-Visma on stage 1 of Giro d'Italia (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

Last-minute Giro d’Italia starter Thomas Gloag described himself as ‘barely awake’ but still ‘super-excited’ to be taking part in the race after the young Jumbo-Visma rider was brought in as a substitute for injured teammate Jan Tratnik.

Tratnik fell heavily in a training crash on Friday, and after getting a call, Gloag had less than 24 hours to get himself from Spain to Italy for his first-ever Grand Tour start.

Alasdair Fotheringham

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 IndependentThe GuardianProCycling, The Express and Reuters.