Geraint Thomas describes his Tour de France bad day as being like an Ikea nail

published 24 July 2015

Geraint Thomas compared his Tour de France jour sans as being like “a cheap little Ikea nail”, after he slipped out of fourth place overall on Friday’s 19th stage to La Toussuire.

Thomas dropped to 15th on GC, 27-24 behind team-mate Froome, having finished exactly 22 minutes behind stage winner Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) atop the ski resort.

Looking tired, yet nonetheless willing to talk to the media, the Welshman admitted he didn’t think his top five dreams would end on today’s 138-kilometre Alpine stage.

“I don’t even know what happened, actually,” he said. “I was just empty today.

“It [having a bad day] was always going to happen, but I was hoping it was going to come on Monday. I just didn’t have anything.

“As they say, sometimes you’re the hammer, sometimes you’re the nail. I was a cheapy little Ikea one today. It was terrible.”

Thomas was buoyed upon hearing that Movistar’s Nairo Quintana had only gained 32 seconds on Sky team-mate Chris Froome on the 18-kilometre finishing climb.

“That’s all good,” he added. “One more day to go.”

Geraint Thomas: Where it all began

Thank you for reading 5 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

Nick Bull is an NCTJ qualified journalist who has written for a range of titles, as well as being a freelance writer at Beat Media Group, which provides reports for the PA Media wire which is circulated to the likes of the BBC and Eurosport. His work at Cycling Weekly predominantly dealt with professional cycling, and he now holds a role as PR & Digital Manager at SweetSpot Group, which organises the Tour of Britain.