Team Sky's Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome will compete at the Tour of Britain this year. GETTY IMAGES
Team Sky said that Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome will line up at next month’s Tour of Britain rather than the final Grand Tour of the season, the Vuelta a España, according to Hardik Vyas of REUTERS. Froome will make his first appearance in the British race since '09, while Thomas returns to the race "on home shores after winning his maiden Tour title last month." Thomas said, "As soon as I'd finished the Tour, I knew I wanted to ride the Tour of Britain and race on home roads. I want to go to the race in the shape to compete and enjoy it. We'll have to see how the next few weeks go but I'm looking forward to it and I know we will have a strong team there." Froome will be racing his first Tour of Britain as a Team Sky rider (REUTERS, 8/16). The London TELEGRAPH reported Froome's appearance in the RideLondon Classic in '16 was his only race to date in the U.K. since the London 2012 Olympics. Froome said, "The Vuelta a España has always been such a big goal and sadly coincided with the Tour of Britain, but not doing La Vuelta this year gives me the chance to come back to the U.K. and race on what looks like a great parcours" (TELEGRAPH, 8/16).
