Thomas cool on pressure of leading
WEARING the yellow jersey on the Tour de France is an amazing experience for any rider but it comes with increasing pressure for Geraint Thomas as he is now in a position to win the great race.
The Welshman, who has led since stage 11, has to go through protocol — post-stage news conference and mixed zone — and endure the attendant pressure of the occasion as he aims to clinch his maiden grand tour title.
But Thomas is familiar with the trappings of high-level achievement, having won two Olympic titles on the track with Great Britain.
“When you compare this to getting to the track pursuit Olympic final in London (in 2012) . . . I had four years of hard work and you can win by a 10th of a second. That’s pressure,” he said yesterday after the 14th stage.
“Here it is different. It’s more sustained. Also, the fact that ‘Froomey’ (Chris Froome) is second overall takes pressure off me.”
Spain’s Omar Fraile powered to victory with a late burst in the last climb to claim the 188km stage from Saint-PaulTrois-Chateaux.
Only Slovenian Primoz Roglic, who is fourth, 2min 38sec behind, gained some time when he attacked in the final climb.
Team Sky has two cards to play in Thomas and Froome, who trails by 1:39, but has six grand tour titles.
How Sky will play its cards in the Pyrenees this week could decide the outcome of the race.
Thomas has been insisting Froome was the team leader but the Welshman’s lead and two stage wins in the Alps suggest he might be the stronger rider.
Dutchman Tom Dumoulin lies third, 1:50 off the pace, and remains a threat to the Team Sky riders.
“If we (fight) each other and Dumoulin wins, we’d look pretty stupid,” Thomas said.
“(Being in that position in a three-week race) is a bit of an unknown for me.”
He did note, however, that Froome and Dumoulin were also in uncharted territory because they both rode the Giro d’Italia earlier this year.
Froome won the Giro ahead of Dumoulin and he is attempting to become the first rider since 1998 to achieve the GiroTour double.
“We’ll handle this as a team,” said Thomas, who knows Dumoulin, even if he appears to be struggling, is a tough nut to crack.
“You don’t know if he is suffering or pacing himself. It takes some balls to do that, especially when you do it alone.”
The 15th stage overnight was a 181.5km hilly ride from Millau to Carcassonne before the second rest day.