Geraint Thomas hopes those tipping him to win the Giro D'Italia are right
Geraint Thomas knows there would be no better answer to the debate over his absence from the Tour de France than for him to win the Giro d'Italia over the next three weeks.
A little more than six weeks after the Ineos Grenadiers named a Tour squad without the Welshman, Thomas will set about trying to justify that call when the Giro begins with a short time trial into Palermo on Saturday.
Thomas made the Tour his primary goal for this season but was short of form in the Criterium du Dauphine in August.
Rather than race in a support role he recalibrated and arrived in Sicily this week as the favourite to be wearing the pink jersey in Milan come October 25.
"It's nice when you hear people say I'm a favourite but at the end of the day I don't think about it," Thomas said.
"I've just come here in the best shape I could, and I'll race the best way I can and hope they're right."
Debate over the Ineos selection for the Tour - which saw both Thomas and four-time Tour winner Chris Froome omitted - has never gone away, only increasing when their defending champion Egan Bernal faded and then withdrew with a back injury he took into the race.
But for all the outside noise, the team have always insisted it was a joint decision.
"This is the first time we've seen each other and he just punched me in the mouth as I walked in," team principal Sir Dave Brailsford joked.
"No. We've known each other for a long time. People either misconstrued or maybe misunderstood the whole thing around the Tour. People saw it as a non-selection, it's not a non-selection...It's about how you best allocate your resources."
Thomas told ITV News last month that he felt like he "needed a bit more racing to get into top shape."
He said: "It has been a nice change really because I have done the Tour a lot and it has been nice to do something different . Hopefully we can make the most of it," he continued.
"I feel good now. I didn’t feel 100% racing a few weeks ago in France hence the decision to not do the Tour.
The Giro course certainly suits Thomas, with three time trials contributing to his status as favourite, while there is uncertainty the race will make it over all of the mountains as snow closes in on a race shifted from its usual slot on the calendar in May.
Because he was not participating in the Tour de France, Thomas was able to train solely for the Italian race. Something which he says he has thoroughly enjoyed.
He told ITV News: "I think it gave me an extra 6 weeks to fine tune my form and get an extra race under my belt.
"I think I am pretty close to my best," Thomas continued.
"My training is good and my weight is good. I am looking forward to it and I think it could be successful."
"If I can get some good time in the time trials and then defend in the mountains I could do okay."
Thomas warmed up with fourth in the world time trial race last week, coming on the back of finishing second at Tirreno-Adriatico last month.
Tirreno was won by Mitchelton-Scott's Simon Yates who is, along with two-time Giro winner Vincenzo Nibali, now seen as the man most likely to deny Thomas as Britain starts the race with two of the three main contenders.
Britain has nine entrants in all. Tao Geoghegan Hart and Ben Swift will line up behind Thomas for the Ineos Grenadiers, while James Knox is ready to test himself for Deceuninck-QuickStep after a top-10 showing at Tirreno-Adriatico.
You can watch Beth Fisher's full interview with Geraint Thomas last month here