Geraint Thomas has set his sights on the Giro d’Italia after winning the Tour of the Alps.

The Cardiff-born rider saw off a series of attacks from French rival Thibaut Pinot to win the five day race.

Thomas will now refresh mentally and physically ahead of the Giro next month when he will bid for his first Grand Tour triumph.

The Team Sky rider, 30, said: “It’s good that we managed to finish it off.

“The other teams piled on the pressure on the climb with plenty of attacks, but my decision was to try to control Pinot.

“That was arguably the most dangerous rival.

“Taking the race and managing to defend a lead for two days was certainly a morale boost and a good indication for the Giro.

“The way we defended the jersey like we did is encouraging but we know that a five-day competition is very different to a three-week race.

“A three-week race is an all together different story.

“The depth of my rivals in the Giro is different, too, but there’s no better last race to have before the Giro.

“We had five hard days of racing and lots of climbing.

“I’m looking forward to the Giro. I can’t wait now. I’m looking forward to racing.”
Thomas finished third on the final stage in Trento clocking the same time as Pinot who picked up 10 bonus seconds for the win.

But Thomas still had enough in hand to claim his first stage win success since last year’s Paris-Nice by seven seconds.

It was Sky’s third successive win in the event but Thomas’ victory was the first by a Brit.

The Giro starts on May 5.