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Geraint Thomas admitted inching ever closer to retirement means he is happy to race in two grand tours this year as he looks to bounce back from his Giro d\u2019Italia heartache in the Vuelta a Espana.<\/p>\n
Despite a recurring bacterial infection hampering his Giro preparations, Thomas was in contention up until the penultimate day but he settled for second as Primoz Roglic claimed victory.<\/p>\n
Thomas finished 10th in the men\u2019s time trial at the UCI Cycling World Championships in Stirling this month but he can move on from that disappointment as he leads Ineos Grenadiers at the upcoming Vuelta.<\/p>\n
It is just the second time Thomas has competed in two of the three big events in a calendar year, and he remarked that doing the 2015 Tour de France and the Vuelta was a \u201chorrible\u201d experience.<\/p>\n
A 69th-place finish at the Vuelta eight years ago has been his only taste of the event but being at the \u201ctwilight\u201d of his cycling career has channelled his focus.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s quite hard being away from home,\u201d the 37-year-old Welshman said. \u201cI\u2019ve got a young son and my wife at home, that\u2019s tough.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s one of those things, it\u2019s quite easy to commit when I know I\u2019m at the very end of my career, the twilight of my career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI might as well commit to this now and see what I can do. Then I\u2019ve got the rest of my life to chill and drink cocktails and look after Macs (his son).\u201d<\/p>\n
While he is one of the favourites for the general classification at the 21-stage Vuelta which starts in Barcelona on Friday with a team time trial, Thomas remains without a contract for next season.<\/p>\n
He was in talks with Ineos before the Giro in May but was tight-lipped when asked for an update on Wednesday, as he said: \u201cNothing to say at the moment but hopefully soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
After competing in Scotland, Thomas revealed he headed to Isola in the French Alps alongside Ineos team-mate Laurens De Plus and their families to complete their Vuelta preparations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was disappointing, I wanted to get a better result than that but that\u2019s the way that race went,\u201d Thomas said, reflecting on what happened in Stirling.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI went up to Isola and had eight days up there with De Plus. We had our families up there which was nice, it didn\u2019t really feel like a camp. I\u2019ve come here ready to go and looking forward to it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been here once before but when I did the Tour and Vuelta, it was horrible, to be honest. I\u2019m a bit more prepared this time. I\u2019m looking forward to a solid race, it will be tough, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n