Geraint Thomas: 'It was the worst time trial in my life'
Team Sky's Geraint Thomas was disappointed with his ride in the 2017 World Championships team time trial on Sunday
Geraint Thomas suffered through the 'worst time trial in his life' on Sunday trying to help Team Sky and Chris Froome win the World Championship title in Bergen, Norway.
Team Sky placed third, 22 seconds behind winner Sunweb, with Tom Dumoulin, and BMC Racing. They covered the 42.5-kilometre course, which included a 1.4-kilometre climb, in 48-12 minutes and averaged 52.905kph.
>>> Cycling time trials: how to get into time trialling
"It's the worst time trial I've ever had in my life," Thomas told Cyclism'Actu.
He lost pace on the climb along with Owain Doull. Sky pushed on with the minimum four men: Froome, Vasil Kiryienka, Michal Kwiatkowski and Gianni Moscon.
>>> Sunweb double up with storming victory in World Championships men’s team time trial
"I really do not understand what happened, and from the start I felt it was not going well and I was not going to have a good time," Thomas added.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"I just did not have the legs: I suppose these are things that happen sometimes and you have to accept it."
The Welshman is returning from two major setbacks, crashing and abandoning both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France this 2017 season.
Thomas won the opening time trial stage of the Tour in Düsseldorf and wore the yellow leader's jersey for four days. A crash in stage nine, however, broke his collarbone and forced him to withdraw.
He admitted that his comeback in the Tour of Britain was "pretty tough going." He told the Telegraph, "I feel like I'm lacking a bit of the punch for the finals, so I said I'd ride a bit [on the front] today. And get a bit of extra work done."
“The guys did their best effort and at the first split they were up by a second," Sport Director Brett Lancaster said of the Bergen time trial.
"We waited a bit on the climb as we knew ideally we needed five guys for the end, but the guys did a super job to bring it home."
Thomas wants to return in 2018 to race for a Grand Tour title. He began the Giro as Sky's leader with Mikel Landa.
"It's something I still want to give another go," he said.
"I feel like I am getting better each year. I take a lot of confidence out of the fitness I had before the Giro – I was doing the best numbers I'd ever done and that gives you confidence in training."
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.
-
Enough already with the F1-inspired pit stops in gravel races: a call for self-sufficiency
The spirit of adventure, resourcefulness and inclusivity is diluted to the point where we risk losing sight of the qualities that made the discipline so unique.
By Anne-Marije Rook Published
-
Mathieu van der Poel extends with Alpecin-Deceuninck until the end of 2028
Dutchman inks new five-year deal after team's second triumph at Milan-San Remo last weekend with Jasper Philipsen
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
‘I feel lucky to be alive’: Magnus Sheffield speaks for the first time about Gino Mäder’s fatal crash
The American describes what he saw at the Tour de Suisse, eight months after the tragedy
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Tweets of the week: Geraint Thomas is still the king of dad jokes
Get your fix of the week's best cycling posts from social media
By Tom Davidson Published
-
‘Unprecedented’ television audiences revealed for cycling Super Worlds
Fans around the world watched more than 200 million hours in August
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Tom Pidcock: Tour of Britain route 'not really ideal for me'
Brit says he wants to win home stage race, even if the course plays in Wout van Aert's favour
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Team USA at Road Worlds: Are Powless and Dygert our best hopes for a medal?
Here's who we'll be watching in the rainbow battles in Glasgow, Scotland.
By Henry Lord Published
-
Tweets of the week: Trek's new Lidl kit, Alaphilippe's unusual training and the Cavendish/Thomas show
Your favourite social media roundup from the world of professional cycling
By Adam Becket Published
-
Tweets of the week: Geraint Thomas has a happy birthday and Elisa Balsamo gets her unicorn back
Oh and Jumbo-Visma gets back into its Twitter account
By Adam Becket Published
-
This 39-year-old INEOS Grenadiers rider moonlights as a pro triathlete
A Jack of all trades, Cameron Wurf is a domestique for INEOS Grenadiers professional cycling team, but doubles as a successful pro triathlete.
By Kristin Jenny Published