Ineos leaves Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome out of Tour de France squad

Welsh cyclist Geraint Thomas and former teammate Chris Froome have been left out of the 2020 Tour de France squad by Ineos. Credit: PA Images

Welsh cyclist Geraint Thomas and his former teammate Chris Froome have been left out of the 2020 Tour de France squad by Team Ineos.

The pair have won five Tours between them, with Thomas taking the yellow jersey in 2018.

Team Ineos, formerly known as Team Sky, announced the squad which includes the 2019 Tour winner Colombian Egan Bernal on Wednesday morning.

Cardiff-born cyclist Luke Rowe has been kept in the line-up, after racing as Thomas' road captain in the 2019 Tour.

Rowe was expelled from the race ahead of three decisive mountain stages after lcashing with Jumbo-Visma's Tony Martin during stage 17 from Pont du Gard to Gap.

Rowe shared news of his inclusion on Twitter, saying: "Another lap of France, let’s be having ya."

In 2018 Thomas became the first Welshman to win the 2,082 mile race, which passes through the Pyrenees and the Alps over a three-week period.

During the procession stage the Cardiff-born cyclist was seen sharing a glass with teammate Chris Froome.

He returned to defend his title in the 2019 Tour de France but missed out to young teammate Bernal, who Thomas was praised for supporting.

Thomas, Froome and manager David Brailsford shared a glass of champagne during the procession stage of the 2018 race. Credit: PA Images

Thomas will instead be attempting to win his second Grant Tour in Italy, which takes place in October.

Thomas said: "It feels like it's back to some sort of normality with the team and racing and everything.

"It's nice to finally just have a firm plan in place and know exactly what I'm doing, and try and get some sort of positive out of this year.

The 34-year-old took part in the 2017 Giro d'Italia but abandoned the race after failing to recover from injuries.

"It's something I've always wanted to go back to. I enjoy the racing there, I've always loved Italy - the roads, the fans and the food, obviously," he said.

"It's just a race I've always sort of enjoyed anyway, a country I love to race. I'm certainly looking forward to going back."

Froome is leaving Ineos at the end of the season and will be leading the team at the Vuelta a Espana in October.