Geraint Thomas admitted he was out of shape after missing out on the Tour de France after the Criterium du Dauphiné.

Thomas, from Wales, finished second overall in the Italian stage race and will be looking to qualify for the Giro d'Italia later this month, but on Friday he will represent Great Britain in the UCI Road World Championships time trial, hoping to win his first rainbow jersey on the road.

Thomas' improvement in Tirreno-Adriatico was in stark contrast to his run in the Dauphiné, where he struggled in the GC battle and in the mountains with Jumbo Visma as superdomestique. To a small group of media gathered at an online press conference, the 34-year-old was candid in his assessment of his condition at the beginning of the year.

"I think it was a little bit lighter. After the Dauphiné, I went into a really tough regime. The team told me how much pasta, protein, and veggies I needed to eat, and I just eased up on the longer distances, like six or seven hours.

"That helped me lose some weight. In the Dauphiné, the power was there, too. When I'm not in good shape, I have a little bit of mental slack."

"In Tirreno I rode as the leader and felt better on the bike. As the days went by I gained confidence and we grew as a team.

Having shifted his focus from the Tour de France to the Giro, the Welshman has a chance to try for his second career Grand Tour victory and avenge the disappointment of crashing out of the 2017 Giro.

He heads to Italy in a few days to compete on a course that seems ideal for his skill set, with three time trials placed throughout the race. The individual time trial at the World Championships will be Thomas' third time trial of the year, but his longest to date.

"Of course, time trials play a big role. But at the same time, I wanted to be there [at the World Championships] anyway, because it's a chance to race. In a normal year, I'm always on my knees by the end of the season. But not this time. I'm in pretty good shape and I wanted to do the TT anyway, but there are three TTs in the Giro, so it's extra important."

"I'm happy with where I'm at for the Giro. Tirreno gave me a lot of confidence and eight days of hard racing. I was able to lose some weight and race more days. That helped a lot. And I'm happy with where I am now. I'm really looking forward to getting into the Giro and riding."

Thomas heads into Friday's challenge with little external pressure. His main focus is on the Giro, but his impressive form in Tirreno makes a medal a real possibility.

However, Ineos Grenadiers teammate Filippo Ganna and defending champion Rohan Dennis are among the favorites to win. There are also rivals heading directly from the Tour de France to Imola, including Tom Dumoulin, Remi Cavagna, Stéphane Keune, and Wout Van Aert.

"I think the rider from the Tour will win. It's after a hard race at the Tour, so it might not be a GC contender, but someone who had a hard race at the Tour but hasn't emptied his tank will win. It will definitely be an exciting race," Thomas said.

"The course is good, but ideally I would have preferred a more undulating course. But as far as the last few days in Tirreno, I was right there. Tomorrow I want to aim for that area. Of course, I want to give it my all and achieve the best possible result

"But yes, I think so. It's the first time I've raced a TT outside of a stage race, and it's strange. I've done two national races and one Olympics.

The important thing for Thomas is that he doesn't feel the need to prove anyone wrong because of the frustration of missing out on the Tour de France with the Ineos team.

"To be honest, I recovered quickly. My first disappointment was that this was really the first time I had not achieved my goal for the year. But I went back to Cardiff, saw my son, got myself together for a few days and was able to get back into the swing of things and get back on track for the Giro. [As soon as I got back to Monaco and started the Giro project, I was immediately motivated. It gave me new drive. It was a decision that Dave [Brailsford, editor's note:] and I made together after the Dauphiné. In fact, it gave me new impetus as well."