Geraint Thomas 'It's sad to take off the yellow jersey… but I didn't expect to keep it'
Sky rider Geraint Thomas looks back at his time in the coveted yellow jersey of Tour de France race leader as he hands it over to team-mate Chris Froome

Geraint Thomas. Photo: ASO/Alex BROADWAY

Geraint Thomas "is sad" to take off the Tour de France's yellow jersey after the fifth stage to La Planche des Belles Filles today, but he didn't expect he would keep the lead.
Sky's Welshman warmed down with a long-sleeve white Sky jersey over the Tour de France's leader's jersey, appropriate because he slipped to second overall at 12 seconds behind team-mate Chris Froome.
"It is a bit sad to take off the yellow," Thomas told Cycling Weekly. "You don't realise what you've got until it's gone. I've certainly appreciated it and enjoyed it.
"It's going to be weird and stick on the new white jersey. At least I kept it fresh. I have a fresh white jersey and the boys' are getting a bit dirty!"
>>> Fabio Aru wins on summit finish of Tour de France stage five as Chris Froome takes overall lead
Thomas pulled in the Sky train up the short 5.9-kilometre climb. Fabio Aru (Astana) attacked for the eventual win and Froome followed. Thomas faded slightly and finished at 40 seconds behind Aru and 20 behind Froome.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"To be honest, I didn't expect to keep it, and to still be relatively close is more of a surprise than not keeping it," he added. "To be second in GC still is a nice bonus. I didn't think that going into the day."
The mountain days have only just begun. The race will swing through the Jura Mountains before hitting the Pyrenees and Alps. Thomas will have his chance again.
Watch: Tour de France 2017 stage five highlights
"Tactically it could play a part [to be high in the overall] come the weekend because there could be a lot going off. It'd be nice to stay up there," Thomas said.
"My goal coming in was to be with Froomey in the thick of the action every day, every big day, and if I do that, that means I stay up on GC anyway.
“For me, anything is a bonus now. Like I said, I've been going well since March. The Giro d'Italia [abandon] was a massive hit, so to go down and to come back up to try go get what I could out of this race, stage win and four days in yellow... I could just sit at the back and enjoy life now!"
Thomas will not have a chance to do so. He must work for Froome as he did today. In the first summit finish of three today, he only touched the front briefly after Michal Kwiatkowski and Mikel Nieve.
>>> Tour de France 2017: Latest news, reports and race info
"I felt better than expected to be honest, it was just... I was comfortable with the pace if we'd gone a bit faster, but as soon as the guys started kicking I didn't have the legs to go, but I kept trying to ride a decent tempo and came back to the front for the final corner. When they sprinted for the final steep thing, I was out the back again.
"We learned a bit as well, like I said to [Froome] at the finish, when he attacked I could've done that for him but he showed he has decent legs. We gave Aru a little bit of leeway which we won't do again.
"We didn't want to let [Aru] get as much time as he did. We kind of lost Landa and Sergio Henao, but I think they need a little bit of time to get into the race as well.
“Frosty [Nieve] was riding a decent tempo but not quite hard enough and Aru got a good advantage then. We learned a bit from that and we won't let that happen again. But for sure, Richie Porte, Aru, Dan Martin – they are the stand-out names at the moment.”
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.
-
Romain Grégoire descends to take Tour de Suisse opening stage win
The 22 year-old Frenchman attacked the day’s final descent in pouring rain to win from a huge breakaway take the overall lead
-
Tadej Pogačar wins the Critérium du Dauphiné as Lenny Martinez bags the final stage at Plateau du Mont-Cenis
Pogačar lays down a Tour de France marker, comfortably resisting a late attack from Jonas Vignegaard to take the overall honours
-
Geraint Thomas named on start list for final British National Championships
Ineos Grenadiers rider among WorldTour talent expected to compete in Wales
-
Tour of Britain Men aims for Cardiff finish to pay tribute to Geraint Thomas in final pro race
Sources say planned route will travel over Caerphilly Mountain and include finish near Cardiff castle
-
Would Dave Brailsford returning to Ineos Grenadiers be a good idea?
Reportedly on his way out of Manchester United back to a wider role at Ineos Sport, the old Team Sky boss might be back in the world of cycling
-
Geraint Thomas to move into management role at Ineos Grenadiers after retirement - reports
Welshman due to retire at end of 2025 but expected to stay with team
-
'I only found out I was coming to this race yesterday' - Sam Watson claims first WorldTour win in 3.4km Tour de Romandie prologue
Brit wins by just three tenths of a second to take leader's jersey
-
'It can really push me along' - How a velodrome comeback is making Caleb Ewan faster on the road
Australian says he'll "definitely" continue track work after rekindling passion
-
Could Caleb Ewan be Ineos Grenadiers' first Tour de France sprinter since Mark Cavendish? 'That's my goal'
"All I can do is try to win as much as possible and prove that I deserve to be there," says Australian
-
'An unprecedented opportunity for brands to be part of the evolution' - Ineos Grenadiers sponsor hunt steps up with sales agency partnership
Sportfive have been employed to find "non-endemic global partners for the team"