Team Ineos has confirmed it will send Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas to the Tour de France as team leaders with Richard Carapaz leading at the Giro.
In setting out the plans team principal
Dave Brailsford made no mention of Chris Froome taking on a leadership role.
Instead, he said the four-time Tour
winner was working at getting competitive again.
However, Brailsford also made no reference to the Vuelta and who would lead the team there, effectively leaving the door open for Froome if he recovers fully.
Brailsford also revealed that new
signing Rohan Dennis will go to the Giro. That schedule will also enable him to
target the TT at the Olympics.
Brailsford only set out the team
leadership plans for the Giro and Tour. He did not list those riders who would
ride in support of the leaders.
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However, he said the younger men in the
team would be given Grand Tour opportunities this year, some at the Tour.
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That will also certainly include Eddie Dunbar who made his Grand Tour debut at the Giro last year and excelled. However, no announcement has been made about what Grand Tour he will ride.
“At this moment in time, what we’re
looking at is Richard going to race the Giro trying to retain his title there,
and then for Geraint and Egan to take on the challenge and focus on the Tour,”
Brailsford said in a video interview released by the team, below.
“And of course, Chris, coming back, he’s
still really craving that big fifth win,” he added of Froome who looks like he
faces a long road back after his crash last year.
“And he’s working very, very hard at the
minute to get back to a level required to be competitive, that’s what we’re
working on.
“Then we’ve got some of the young riders who are developing. So we’re going to try and merge some of them into the Tour team and some of the others into the Giro to get experience.”
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