Geraint Thomas consolidates Tour de France podium spot
Ineos Grenadiers captain accepts that overturning advantage of Jonas Vingegaard or Tadej Pogačar will be 'hard'
Geraint Thomas wasn’t defeated, but he was accepting of reality. Bar disaster for him or the two riders in front of him, third place at the 2022 Tour de France is within his grasp.
But his chances of a second win appear vanishingly small.
The Welshman had battled on smartly and doggedly to take fourth on the race’s first big visit to the high Pyrenees but he was left behind by UAE Emirates rider Brandon McNulty’s strong pace setting on the Col de Val Louron-Azet.
“It’s hard now isn’t it,” he said when asked if he could move up the GC rankings at the finish line. “I don’t know how far down I was, something like two minutes and they’re super strong as we know but it’s nice to be in the mix.”
The 2018 Tour champion’s gap to the yellow jersey is now 4-56, with Tadej Pogačar in second slightly closer at 2-38 up the standings, while his advantage over Nairo Quintana in fourth place is 2-57.
Asked if he could feel comfortable in third spot now, the Ineos Grenadiers leader said: “It's obviously a decent advantage, but we've seen everyone's had pretty bad days, apart from Vingegaard at the moment, well and myself I haven't had a super bad day yet. Hopefully I can continue to ride as I am and hopefully it will solidify that place. But tomorrow, we'll see.”
Stage 17 was Thomas’s worst day so far in terms of the time lost to the front two but even then he gained on all those behind him in the GC pecking order. Having been dropped on the penultimate climb of the day he joined up with a following group for the ride to the foot of the final climb to Peyragudes before fending off an attack from Romain Bardet (DSM) and then leaving everyone behind to place fourth on the day.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Ineos Grenadiers sports director Steve Cummings added: “You can't really have that [racing for third] mindset. I think it's just doing the best that we can and then let's see what that that brings us….But yeah, something would have to happen, at the moment, to change things.”
Thomas said he wasn’t feeling “tip top” today. “I made the call to wait for group behind rather than try and battle on and go into the red to get back to that group and risk blowing up and then maybe losing even more time,” he said.
He was full of admiration for three-time U23 time trial World Champion Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Emirates) who had done a big turn at the bottom of the Col de Val Louron-Azet putting many of Pogačar’s rivals into trouble. “He put in a hell of a shift for the rider he is,” he said before adding that the Slovenian deserved the win for his depleted team taking the race on aggressively.
“Fair play to whatever they had for breakfast,” he said about the Middle Eastern-backed squad.
He said he had no particular strategy he’d look to employ in the final mountain test other than trying to keep his legs feeling fresh and strong. “I think we’ll just continue to do all we're doing, doing the basics, trying to hydrate and eat well. Although I'm sick of it now, it's mad how you can even get sick of drinking,” he said.
Thomas may have been forced to lower his sights from the top step by the form on display form Pogačar and Vingegaard but he’s shown he is in a class of one behind those two exceptional riders. One suspects he can take some pleasure in that.
Ineos Grenadiers suffer
While Thomas had a sub-par day his fellow Ineos front-runners faired worse.
Adam Yates lost even more time than Thomas on stage 17 and slipped down the GC rankings to ninth.
The Bury-born rider has, Cummings revealed, been suffering with a respiratory illness that has been sweeping through the Ineos Grenadiers camp. Dani Martinez and Jonathan Castroviejo have both had a similar illness, which he assured us was not Covid, and been on antibiotics throughout the race hoping to come back from it.
Meanwhile, Tom Pidcock who had held onto a top ten place until stage 17, also slipped down to 15th. Cummings said as far he was aware Pidcock wasn’t sick. “It's his first Tour de France and just needs to keep it in perspective, really,” he said. “He's won a massive stage. He did a lot of work for the team in the first week. And he's been faultless, really.”
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
Having trained as a journalist at Cardiff University I spent eight years working as a business journalist covering everything from social care, to construction to the legal profession and riding my bike at the weekends and evenings. When a friend told me Cycling Weekly was looking for a news editor, I didn't give myself much chance of landing the role, but I did and joined the publication in 2016. Since then I've covered Tours de France, World Championships, hour records, spring classics and races in the Middle East. On top of that, since becoming features editor in 2017 I've also been lucky enough to get myself sent to ride my bike for magazine pieces in Portugal and across the UK. They've all been fun but I have an enduring passion for covering the national track championships. It might not be the most glamorous but it's got a real community feeling to it.
-
I'm about to turn 40 - how can I keep riding fast?
Approaching a landmark birthday, Charlie Graham-Dixon explores how ageing affects cycling performance and what can be done to stay ahead of the curve
By Charlie Graham-Dixon Published
-
Life Time Grand Prix to have fewer riders and wild cards in 2025
The flagship US gravel series has confirmed the six races that will be a part of the competition next year
By Adam Becket Published
-
Mark Cavendish to conclude professional cycling career in Singapore
Tour de France stage win record holder to bring curtain down on racing career at ASO end of season criteriums in Asia
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Alpe d'Huez, Mont Ventoux, and all the route rumours for the 2025 Tour de France
Here's where the peloton may be heading next July
By Tom Davidson Published
-
How Tadej Pogačar created history and claimed cycling's Triple Crown of the Giro-Tour-Worlds
A journey that was supposedly fraught with risk and uncertainty was anything but for Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and World Championships victor Tadej Pogačar
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
Pogačar mania takes hold in Canada with 2026 Montréal World Championships on the horizon
Organiser of GP Québec and Montréal gearing up for Worlds returning to North America in 2026
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Simon Yates says he took a pay cut in order to join Visma-Lease a Bike
32-year-old says it was now or never as he gets set to leave Jayco AIUla after eleven years
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Tadej Pogačar misses out on GP Québec win on return to WorldTour action
Slovenian finishes seventh in first race back since third Tour de France victory
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Matteo Jorgenson: 'I would like to go for GC in a Grand Tour at some point'
'It’s been everything that I’ve dreamed of so far' says American as he reflects on debut season with Visma-Lease a Bike
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Tadej Pogačar skips Disneyland trip as World Championships preparation begins
Pogačar aiming for GP Québec and Montréal double as he makes a return to WorldTour racing in Canada
By Tom Thewlis Published