The Ineos Grenadiers have announced the roster for the 2024 Giro d'Italia, and former Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas is set to lead the charge in his GC ambitions.

Thomas will return to the Giro a year after losing Maria Rosa on the final day. However, he is not plagued by infections as he was in 2023, and is once again looking to win the overall.

Thomas, a Welshman, was not in great form in his last race before the Giro at the Tour de l'Alps, but it was no different than his previous preparations. Thomas has taken the old-fashioned approach of peaking in the biggest races, and it has worked to great effect throughout his 18-year career.

A 13th place finish in the GC was nothing to worry about for the 37-year-old, and after going on the attack in stage 5, Thomas believed he would be at his best on May 4, when the Giro opens.

"The preparation is going well and I feel good for the start. We have a strong group and we have a good bond with this group," Thomas said. 'We know what we have to do and we're all motivated to get the job done and get results.'

Slovenian rider Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates) will make his Giro debut, looking to return to the top step of the Grand Tour podium for the first time since a whopping July 2021.

"Obviously, Tadey Pogachar is the pre-race favorite and he has a strong team around him.

"But that also means all eyes will be on him in three weeks of hard racing. Our plan is to race aggressively and look for every opportunity to put pressure on him and reduce his time."

Thomas, who is aiming for a Giro and Tour de France double in 2024, will have to work hard to get back on the podium. However, he has strong support in Timen Arensmen, who finished sixth in last year's Giro and in the same position in the Vuelta the year before, and can ride for his own ambitions.

Tobias Foss, Filippo Ganna, and Ben Swift also form part of the eight-man team that will race the Tour de l'Alpe with Thomas, after Ineos won the first stage and completed final preparations for the Giro opening on May 4.

Foss, who finished ninth in the Giro, will make his Grand Tour debut with Ineos after winning the Tour of the Alps for the first time for the British team.

"Gelant is one of the most experienced riders in the peloton and will lead our charge to Rome. He is a proven winner, an excellent bike rider, and a great leader," said DS Steve Cummings.

"In the general class, we have three riders who have finished in the top ten in this race before, and we're looking forward to seeing how they do in the next few races.

Ganna will be looking for his seventh and eighth Giro wins since 2021, and his first at his home race, in the time trial on stages 7 and 14.

The rest of the team will consist of cobbled classics participants Honatan Narvaez, Conor Swift, and Magnus Sheffield. Both Swift and Sheffield are making their Giro d'Italia debuts, and this will be the first Grand Tour appearance for the 22-year-old American.

"Last year we put a group together and raced purely, but this year we took a slightly different approach," Ineos' Zach Dempster told Cycling News at the Tour of the Alps.

After the Tour of the Alps, the British team headed to Monte Grappa to conduct important reconnaissance for the 18.2-km climb that they will attempt twice on stage 20. Dempster also told Cycling News that prior to the start of the race in Venaria Reale, the team only had a reconnaissance of the Oropa summit finish of stage 2 and the finale of stage 1 left.