Thomas sweeps to Tour of the Alps victory

Rome - Britain's Geraint Thomas gave himself and Team Sky a major boost ahead of the Giro d'Italia when he swept to victory at the Tour of the Alps on Friday.

Thomas finished the five-stage race with a seven-second lead over France's Thibaut Pinot of the FDJ team who won the last stage.

Mikel Landa, a Sky team-mate of Thomas, was fifth overall, 42 seconds behind, to justify his place in the squad for the Giro which starts in Sardinia on May 5.

"On the Giro, we will share the role of leader with Landa," said Thomas.

"We'll support each other and we will see towards the end who has the best chances."