Who is your tip for the podium?

“[Geraint] Thomas, [Jakob] Fuglsang and [Vincenzo] Nibali. I think [Miguel Angel] Lopez will be riding more in a support position for Fuglsang. I think it’s between Thomas, Fuglsang and Nibali for the overall GC.”

On Geraint Thomas having a point to prove

“I think he’s probably the favourite. I think the closest challengers are Jakob Fuglsang and [Vincenzo] Nibali – never discount Nibali. I feel Geraint has got a point to prove now after what happened at the Tour. I think he’ll have the bit between his teeth and he’ll be ready to go. I never put anything past what that man can put his mind to because I’d say he’ll probably go down as our greatest ever cyclist when he retires. I think he’s one of the toughest mentally I’ve ever seen, he doesn’t let much get to him.”

 The Giro is later this year – does the timing suit Thomas this year?

“I think so, yes. Timing wise it’s really good for him because it’s given him more time and maybe less pressure as well from a Tour de France point of view because he’s won that. I think this will be a better way for him to not have a continual focus on him. When you’re going through something new there’s no reference so his reference of the Giro is bad luck and crashing. Whereas with the Tour it’s always that reference of how he was going when he won the race. I think definitely for him, the Giro will be a lot different from that point of view and I think it’ll probably make his life easier as he’ll have less questions and constant references to the Tour. He’s never won the race and Nibali has won it two times and knows what that feeling’s like, whereas G is trying to achieve something new.”

Could Geraint Thomas be in pink for the whole race due to the prevalence of time trials, beginning with stage 1

“Definitely, yes. It’s quite feasible and may happen. There might come a point tactically when they might need to lose the jersey part of the way through to alleviate some pressure to not have to ride every day, but depending how much of a gap he’s got, that could happen.”

On Simon Yates:

“It’s not out of the question that he can win it. He would’ve learned a lot from the last couple of years when he nearly won a few years ago when Froome won. He’s obviously won Tirreno-Adriatico and he could be a big challenge. His time challenge ability is questionable whether he’ll lose the race there or not but they’ve picked this race for a reason this year and they’ve done their homework and I think they’ll be ready to go. He won’t want to go there just to finish second or third so I think they might have something up their sleeve, Mitchelton-Scott.”

“I think Simon will ride an attacking race at the hardest points. That’s the way Simon rides and how he nearly won the Giro the other year before Froome did his exploits. I think he’ll have to ride an attacking race but that’s his style anyway. I don’t think the time trial will be where he loses the Giro as he can make gains in the mountains.”

On Rafał Majka and whether he can win the Giro after securing four top ten finishes previously

“Rafał is a really seasoned rider now. King of the Mountains in the Tour de France and he’s won stages. He’s a class act and again he’s another one you would’ve normally put in the Tour de France team but he obviously wasn’t there this year. He’ll be another one who wants to get something out of this season. There are lots of guys who want to get something out of this season and we’re in September now, due to everything that’s happened this year with not being able to race. Lots of guys have been keen to get going especially having watched the Tour. You naturally as a rider watch the Tour and think you could’ve done something on certain stages and they’ll be relishing the idea of getting back and having a go. He’ll be one that is definitely in that group. I don’t think he’ll be winning the race but he’ll be top five, top six definitely and a stage win here or there, potentially King of the Mountains.”

On Vincenzo Nibali

“I think he’ll be up there. It’s always difficult because of the time of year. It’s hard to say but I would say he wouldn’t have had much racing. Nibali is the type of rider who will go good off the back of lots of racing. I think he’ll surprise people and will get better as the race goes on – he’s a little bit like Sagan in that sense. As the race goes on he’ll get better and better but I don’t think he’ll worry too much about his form from the World Championship because the one-day race is very difficult and you’ve got guys coming off the Tour. He won’t be too concerned about referencing how he’ll go on the Giro compared to the World Championships.”

On Miguel Angel Lopez and Jakob Fuglsang:

“He came really strong at the end of the Giro. He had a bad time trial of course but I think he will be very strong. He could be a big ally to Fuglsang in the mountains. They’re going to be a really strong squad Astana. They probably can match INEOS, if not stronger. I think Fuglsang has to be the leader because he probably gave up his place in the Tour to be strong at the Giro. He seems to get better with age.”

On a young talent who may do well at the Giro:

“Tao Geoghegan Hart. He’s ready to make an impact.”

Démare, Viviani, Sagan, Matthews, Gaviria are all sprinters going to the Giro. Who is number one on this list:

“Gaviria - we haven’t seen him like he did a few years ago. Viviani was almost a shadow of his former self on the Tour. I actually think Sagan went back to his best form from riding the Tour so he could make a bigger impact in this Giro than he did on the Tour. I think this year could be perfect for Démare. I’m surprised he didn’t ride the Tour actually because there were a lot more sprint stages in this Tour than they said there would because I think he could have won the green jersey.”

TEAMS

How do INEOS recover from the Tour starting with the Giro:

“It’s more down to the riders; they’ll just carry on doing what they do. Geraint Thomas will be in his position and he’s had longer now to get into better shape and he’ll be ready to go. At the end of the day, you can make all the plans but it’s almost a different team now. It’s almost like a different string of the team so they won’t really have to pick themselves up in that sense. This team will have been working and preparing for the Giro so it’s almost like a separate team.”

Do you think the Giro will be INEOS’ main objective now this year:

“I think they go from race to race really. They’ll put [the Tour] behind them, they won’t dwell on it too much and I think they will just see this as business as usual really. I think the Tour will be forgotten really. It’s more for everyone else to refer back to the Tour. I don’t think the Giro will be on a priority list; they’ll be at the next race and the Tour will be forgotten.

 Do you think INEOS will go back to setting the pace at the Giro considering their Tour performance?

“If Geraint takes pink, I think we’ll see a different INEOS at this Tour de France. This is a much stronger line-up from a point of view of their capable of doing something. Bernal never got into a position where they needed to take that dominant role but I think if Geraint takes pink or Ganna takes pink, we’ll see them stamp their authority earlier on and when some like Geraint is at the back of that train, he’ll want them to do that.”

On who will be the strongest team and what will INEOS look like:

“I think it will be a strong team, yes. Everything they put out is strong team because they have such a strong squad, with Geraint as leader – he obviously finished second in the Tirreno-Adriatico. I think they’ll be fully behind him and I think he will really motivate those riders and they will have a good enough squad.”

 On it being the wrong decision for INEOS not to take Thomas to the Tour de France:

“It was clearly. I think he’ll want to prove that aside from anything, he’s quite a historian of the sport. He really realises what he’s doing and wants to win. I think he’ll see the value in adding the Giro d’Italia to his Tour de France and I think he’ll really relish that. I think he’ll be well up for it. He raced in Italy a lot when he was younger. I think he’s got unfinished business and has a point to prove definitely.”

GENERAL

The Giro and Vuelta overlap and teams have had to make tough decision over selection. Do you think this has harmed the sport this year and if you were given the chance, which do you think you would’ve ridden in?

 “That’s a tough one but probably the Giro. I guess we’re lucky to have the races this year after everything that’s happened. I guess the fear is whether it all goes ahead next year to plan. It seems a bit silly that La Vuelta overlaps the Giro but I guess there are reasons for that, logistically. I probably would’ve favoured the Tour actually, especially the way the route was but I probably would’ve liked to have gone straight to the Giro and done both.”

On it being a more open Giro this year:

“I think the time of the year, because obviously the weather will be better in the mountains. We’re so used to having the Giro in May and I think that makes it very difficult, because some of the climbs are difficult to go over because of the snow, so they won’t have that issue this year. So, I think they’re going to have some hot days. I think the weather will make it a far better Giro. Maybe less unpredictable because the weather can be quite cruel out there sometimes.”

On looking forward to the Giro

“I am looking forward to it. I’ve really enjoyed my role with Eurosport and being part of the commentary team, which I started doing at the Tour and I really enjoyed. I’m looking forward to getting back to Bath with Dan Lloyd and everyone and it’s just nice watching cycling every day and being able to talk about it – it’s a real privilege.”

What makes the Giro so special and why should people tune in:

“I think this year will be very special and unique because of the time of year it’s on. The weather normally plays quite an impact in May on the Giro and this year with COVID and how it’s two weeks after the Tour de France in October time, I think the weather will be better. It’s a very strange time to have the Giro for everyone including the Tour and World Championships last week. I’m not sure how it’s going to work out from a crowd point of view; I think more than the Tour. The crowds at the Tour were a little bit underwhelming at times, especially in Paris, but I understand why and we were just lucky to have a race. Having a British rider who could potentially win is a reason to tune in.”