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Geraint Thomas said his first Tour de France victory has given him a “taste” for more grand tour successes, although he appears unlikely to tackle the Vuelta a España despite being penciled in for next month’s race.
The 32-year-old could barely contain his excitement after crossing the line, draping the Welsh flag around his shoulders on the podium and calling it the best day of his life after his marriage to his wife Sara, The Guardian reported.
“I got into cycling because of this race,” said Thomas, who won the race by 1min 51sec from the Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin.
“I remember running home from school to be a part of it, and now I am here stood in the yellow jersey. It’s insane. I’ve certainly got the taste for it. I’m floating around on cloud nine. Maybe when I am 70 sat in a pub telling some 18-year-old what I used to be, maybe then it will sink in. For now it’s a whirlwind, the stuff of dreams.”
Thomas joins Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome on the roll call of British winners of the Tour. However, the chances of him immediately tackling the Vuelta when it begins in Malaga on August 25 appear slim – with the Team Sky principal, David Brailsford, suggesting his newest grand tour winner will enjoy a much needed break.
Thomas said he could not believe the hundreds of positive messages he had received from fellow cyclists and on social media.
“I stayed off Twitter for most of the Tour but I went in on Saturday night and it was insane to see the responses from back home,” he said.
“I believed I could beat anyone over a week but I had never done it over three. Winning the first stage was a real boost but it’s insane how everything just clicked on the Tour. This is the highlight of my life, other than getting married. It would be nice to win more grand tours but, if I do nothing now for the rest of my career, I can be happy.”
Thomas also paid tribute to Froome, who he said had not only helped him win the race but had shown mental fortitude by surviving abuse from French fans for most of the race.
“It’s unfortunate but it’s a part of it,” Thomas said. “I took a lot of inspiration from Froomey and the way he deals with it all. Fair play, he’s one of the strongest guys I know, mentally.”
For his part Froome, who has won this race four times, said he was happy to pass on the baton.
“I genuinely am happy for G,” he said. “I am so proud of him, having been teammates and friends for 10 years. And for the team it is the sixth Tour de France in seven years. It is massive for us.”
Thomas is expected to sign a new threeyear-contract with Team Sky later this year but refused to be drawn on his future after the race. “I haven’t thought about that. I guess I’ll have to in the next couple of weeks but at the moment I just want to enjoy this.” Lewis Hamilton leads Formula One into the August break by a healthy margin but, despite winning from pole position in Hungary on Sunday, the champion feels Mercedes still has some catching up to do.
Ferrari had looked the favorite for victory at the Hungaroring but could not show its true race pace after Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas made the most of a wet qualifying on Saturday, Reuters reported.
The circuit is famously difficult for overtaking and Bottas, however much it pained him to be told, proved an excellent ‘wingman’ in keeping the Ferraris behind while Hamilton built a buffer.
Hamilton, now 24 points clear of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel after 12 of the 21 races, will head off on holiday a happy man but also recognizing he is in a different kind of fight this year compared to 2017.
“This year we all know that Ferrari really do have the upper hand pace-wise,” said the Briton after his fifth win of the campaign.
“But to win a championship is not just about speed, it’s about how you manage things, the strategy calls you make, mistakes, all these different things weigh up.”
While Mercedes has made some glaring strategy mistakes, Vettel has made more errors in the heat of battle than his rival.
Work to do
The Briton has now won six times in Hungary, more than any driver, but has yet to do so and take the title in the same season.
There is still plenty of work to do if he is to break that streak, even if Hamilton is well ahead of where he was this time last year when he went into the August shutdown 14 points adrift of Vettel.
“We’ve got things to improve, we’ve got performance to bring moving forwards. We’ve got to try and catch them,” said Hamilton of Ferrari’s perceived pace advantage.
“But we’ve got to continue to keep rising with all the other elements, which allows us to beat the Ferraris when they don’t bring their A game.”
The second half of the season has been good for Hamilton in the past, with the Briton coming back strongly last year to clinch his fourth title.
He rejected a suggestion that he had a couple of fingers on a fifth already, however.
“Absolutely not. I think it’s far too early and you’ve seen the ups and downs we’ve had from this year, you’ve been ahead by some points and behind some points,” he said.
“A lot can happen moving forwards but what’s really important is that we continue to keep up the pressure and keep working as we have done until now. There’s nothing we really need to alter.
“It’s important to capitalize on those difficult weekends such as this and I think that’s really been a key strength of ours this year,” he added.
Belgium is next up, followed by Italy, and Hamilton won both of those last year. But before then he can enjoy a few weeks of down time.
“Now it’s holiday, I’m going to meet my mum and my sister and niece and nephew tonight and I’ll spend the next four or five days with them,” he said on Sunday.
“It’s not too often I get to do family holidays so that’s something I’m looking forward to.”