‘The conditions weren’t there’ – Geraint Thomas on Giro d’Italia’s Gran Sasso stalemate

GRAN SASSO D'ITALIA - CAMPO IMPERATORE, ITALY - MAY 12: Geraint Thomas of The United Kingdom and Team INEOS Grenadiers crosses the finish line during the 106th Giro d'Italia 2023, Stage 7 a 218km stage from Capua to Gran Sasso d'Italia, Campo Imperatore 2123m / #UCIWT / on May 12, 2023 in Gran Sasso d'Italia, Campo Imperatore, Italy. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images,)
Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) finishes stage 6 atop Gran Sasso d'Italia at Campo Imperatore in seventh place (Image credit: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

No alarms and no surprises. Cycling’s equivalent of a 0-0 draw played out among the general classification contenders on stage 7 of the Giro d’Italia, where a brisk headwind on Gran Sasso d’Italia effectively precluded any prospect of attacks from the men with overall victory in mind for Rome in two weeks’ time.

Outside the Ineos Grenadiers bus at the foot of the climb in Fonte Cerreto, team manager Rod Ellingworth summed up the day’s action succinctly while he waited for his riders to descend the mountain in a cable car. “Not a lot you can say about it, really,” he said almost apologetically.

Barry Ryan
Head of Features

Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.