'I've not got many Tours left in me,' says Geraint Thomas, before smiling 'no, it's not the last'
As the roads of the Tour de France go up and down, so has Geraint Thomas' head, but it'll take more than that to break the Welshman's spirit

"My head was in a bucket," says Geraint Thomas, describing how he felt after stage eight of the Tour de France when his GC ambitions imploded, losing half an hour as he finally, totally, succumbed to the injuries sustained in a crash on stage three.
So downbeat was the Welshman in an interview with Velon that it was pulled almost as soon as it had been sent out. That night, Thomas slept on it, and returned to the start line of stage nine, overheard telling a rider as the peloton rolled out that he was still a bit sore.
He was also resurgent, however, as the road kicked up towards Tignes, pulling on the front, reasserting himself at the race he won in 2018, and there now seems to be a fairly good chance he'll continue to Paris.
"I think if I hadn’t bounced back as I did yesterday it would be more of a discussion," Thomas said of potentially abandoning the Tour for only the second time in what is his 11th participation. "But it’s the Tour and I didn’t want to just leave, but at the same time it’s the whole Olympics thing, weighing up what’s best. It’s six and two threes I guess, staying here, with the massage, physio, chef, I can go easier some days and go harder some days. The only thing is the quick turnaround from travelling out there basically."
Thomas will continue for the time being and hope his condition continues to improve. His shoulder doesn't bother him after it's strapped up before each stage and his hip is more or less fine once he's racing and warmed up.
It was just getting through those early stages banged up that was the issue, requiring 80 per cent as opposed to the usual 50 per cent of energy, and more time on the physio table meant less time winding down in the evening, talking with family, and the craziness of stage eight was inopportunely timed, which Tomas says "definitely played a big part" in how his race unravelled so quickly.
We all know Thomas is gutsy on the bike, but his honesty about how much of a mental struggle dealing with this disappointment was, as well as cracking a few jokes in the rest day press conference while being asked to relive this disappointment, shows his all-round robustness.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"I think I just fight and go deep with everything really, out in the bike race or out on the piss," Thomas says of his unwillingness to throw in the towel at the Tour just yet. "I'm not one to sort of give up easily and if there’s ever a chance to maybe get better.
"Starting the stage [nine] I thought it was going to be the same as the day before. You fight and give it everything and you can turn it around and come out better."
As he suffered in the gruppetto on stage eight, his immediate future did flit between varying timelines. Abandoning to focus on the Olympics, and then maybe have a tilt at the Vuelta a España was one possibility, but Thomas says it would demand too much mentally to refocus for another Grand Tour after going all-in for a shot at another yellow jersey.
"I’d find it had to focus on the Vuelta now," he admits. "I’ve put so much into getting ready for here, all that mental energy is almost at zero once I get to the TT at the Olympics, my mind will be almost completely spent because I've put so much into it.
"It’d be knuckling down [beforehand] for only another two weeks but then you’ve got three weeks of hard racing, more time away from family and it’d take a lot to get my head around."
For the rest of this Tour, Thomas feels he can go for a stage as well as assisting Richard "Billy" Carapaz when required.
"There’s no pressure on me now here, so I'll just make the most of it. I’ve not got many more Tours in me really, 35 now," he says.
Does he think this could be his last Tour?
“No,” he smiles, wryly. “It’s not the last. My contract is up this year and I’d like the Paris Olympics to be a final big goal, so maybe three more years. Certainly a couple more Tours in there."
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
Jonny was Cycling Weekly's Weekend Editor until 2022.
I like writing offbeat features and eating too much bread when working out on the road at bike races.
Before joining Cycling Weekly I worked at The Tab and I've also written for Vice, Time Out, and worked freelance for The Telegraph (I know, but I needed the money at the time so let me live).
I also worked for ITV Cycling between 2011-2018 on their Tour de France and Vuelta a España coverage. Sometimes I'd be helping the producers make the programme and other times I'd be getting the lunches. Just in case you were wondering - Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen had the same ham sandwich every day, it was great.
-
'This is the marriage venue, no?': how one rider ran the whole gamut of hallucinations in a single race
Kabir Rachure's first RAAM was a crazy experience in more ways than one, he tells Cycling Weekly's Going Long podcast
By James Shrubsall
-
Full Tour of Britain Women route announced, taking place from North Yorkshire to Glasgow
British Cycling's Women's WorldTour four-stage race will take place in northern England and Scotland
By Tom Thewlis
-
Remco Evenepoel hails end of 'dark period' and announces racing return
Olympic champion says comeback from training crash has been 'the hardest battle of my life so far'
By Tom Thewlis
-
'We need to keep the biggest race in the sport free' - Petition calling for Tour de France to remain on free-to-air television reaches 10,000 signatures
As things stand, the Tour will be not be free to watch in 2026, but a petition is seeking to change the way it is categorised by the UK government
By Adam Becket
-
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
By Tom Davidson
-
Extra wildcard team approved for Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España
Number of teams to increase from 22 to 23 at men's Grand Tours
By Tom Davidson
-
Jonas Vingegaard out of Volta a Catalunya after Paris-Nice crash
Visma-Lease a Bike say two-time Tour de France winner needs more time to recover from wrist injury sustained in France last week
By Tom Thewlis
-
'We've all got a little bit extra in us this year' - Ineos Grenadiers recapture 'fighting spirit' with aggressive Paris-Nice display
British team continue to put tumultuous 2024 behind them with momentum and a new found mentality
By Tom Thewlis
-
Matteo Jorgenson aiming to 'set the bar higher' and target a Grand Tour after securing second Paris-Nice title
American explained that targeting a win in one of the sport's biggest three-week races was now the logical next step in his career
By Tom Thewlis
-
Matteo Jorgenson rules out Tour de France leadership after Jonas Vingegaard's withdrawal from Paris-Nice
The American is on the cusp of a second consecutive victory at the Race to the Sun
By Tom Thewlis