Tour leader Thomas praises Froome as Tour de France victory is assured
Geraint Thomas paid tribute to defending champion and teammate Chris Froome as he struggled with the “insane” reality that he is set to become the first Welsh winner of the Tour de France.
“It’s incredible just to be sat here with this jersey, it’s insane,” Thomas said in disbelief after he finished third, at 14 seconds behind Dutch rival Tom Dumoulin in the race’s penultimate stage time trial on Saturday.
Sunday’s final stage is a procession to Paris and with tour convention dictating that the race leader is never challenged on it, Thomas only needed to reach the finish to win, with the end result unavailable at the time of going to print.
“A big thanks to Froomey as well, because he committed to me and was really happy to see me do well.
“We’re great friends, and I had probably the best stage rider, ever. It’s so surreal. It’s going to take a while to sink in.”
Thomas led Sunweb team leader Dumoulin by 1min 51secs going into Sunday’s final stage, when the peloton rides from Houilles to Paris in festive spirit before the sprinters take over for a battle on the Champs Elysees.
Froome, who was only one second behind Dumoulin in the time trial, remains third at 2:24 and is virtually assured a podium place.
For the outgoing champion, whose build-up to the Tour was marred by an anti-doping investigation that only cleared him days before the start, there was no bitterness.
“None at all,” said Froome when asked if he had wished that his campaign turned out differently.
“Not only have I been a teammate of G [Geraint] over the last 10 years, but also a friend.
“We spend a lot of time together, we train a lot together and I’ve seen how he’s developed over the years.
“He’s been a massive part of my Tour de France victories over the years.
“It makes me really proud and I’m glad to be a part of that. Standing on the podium with him tomorrow, on the Champs Elysees, hopefully, is a dream scenario for us.”