Thomas hails triumphant team-mate but pledges to return and fight for crown
No-one could doubt Geraint Thomas’ pleasure that his Ineos team-mate Egan Bernal had won his first ever Tour de France this weekend was genuine – but after finishing second, the Welshman’s determination to claim another victory for himself in the years to come was equally plain.
The defending 2018 Tour champion was the first to pat Bernal on the back and offer his congratulations when the Colombian crossed the finish line of the race’s last mountain stage on Saturday and he described being a part of Bernal’s victory as “an honour.”
Yet even Thomas said he had not predicted Bernal’s victory, at 22, despite the young Colombian’s ferocious run of success this season in races as prestigious as Paris-nice and thecri teri um du Dauphiné.
“To be honest, no,” Thomas said on Saturday. ”But the talent is there to see from the very start. He’s improving all the time and he’s born to go uphill fast. He’s got the best team around him and he’s got many great years in front of him.”
And as for Thomas, himself, the Welshman admitted this year’s build-up to the Tour has been far from ideal, and as far back as November, he said with a wry grin, he recognised it would be difficult to take a back-toback win.
Yet whilst Chris Froome’s absence through injury suddenly cleared the way in terms of leadership for Thomas in one sense and set him up as the nominal Tour favourite, Bernal’s spectacular progress meant that the Welshman was not going to be Ineos’ sole contender.
It’s a time-honoured cliche that the only thing harder than winning one Tour is winning the second – the pressure and expectations are higher, the rivals more attentive, the media focus far more intense – as Thomas confirmed.
“It’s tough to come back to the same level,” he said. “There are so many distractions to deal with all that. You get a few knocks and crashes, but I felt like I managed to get myself in good shape here. It didn’t quite happen for me but the main thing was that we won as a team.”
Thomas has vowed, nonetheless, to return to the Tour and fight for the overall win, despite Bernal overhauling him this year and despite Froome, pictured, being widely expected to be back in 2020 for the race.
“I think so,” Thomas said when asked if he could repeat his 2018 success. “A lot of people probably don’t think so, but whatever. That spurs me on. One of my mates texted me earlier and said ‘good job you’re second in the Tour’.”
“If someone had said that a few years ago not many people would have believed but now it’s disappointing to come second and not go back-to-back. I’ve got that belief.”
But Thomas was admirably generous, too in defeat, taking on the role of ‘father figure’ to Bernal, 12 years his junior and giving him advice about how to handle the emotion of capturing cycling’s biggest bike race.
“I just said ‘just enjoy it, don’t worry about crying all real men cry.’ He’s got an amazing career ahead of him, and it’s an honour to have been a part of this.”