IT’S SQUEAKY BUM TIME NOW!
Thomas quotes Fergie as he closes in on title
JUST as Geraint Thomas had predicted, there were attacks. Near the base of the mighty Tourmalet. Again on the brutal ascents of the Soulor and the Aubisque.
Attacks designed to make the Welshman crack, expose any hint of weakness, and take back precious seconds heading into today’s individual time trial, the last proper stage of the Tour de France.
While Ireland’s Dan Martin finished yesterday’s stage fourth, to leave him eighth overall, at one point on this glorious afternoon in the Pyrenees, Mikel Landa was only 84 seconds down on Thomas and virtual yellow, cutting the deficit he had on the start line in Lourdes yesterday by more than three minutes. With Romain Bardet joining him in a breakaway group, and only 40 seconds down, it amounted to a bit of excitement.
But from the thick cloud that covered these dramatic peaks yesterday a champion emerged, a 32-year-old from Cardiff who not only excelled in the Alps with those back-to-back stage wins but then resisted all attempts to unsettle him on the mountain gradients that remained.
It means, barring disaster over the 31km time trial course today, Thomas will become the third Briton in seven years to win professional cycling’s biggest prize, following in the skinny tyre tracks of Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome to give Team Sky a sixth Tour win in seven years.
Contrary to fears, there were no further threats to the personal safety of the Sky riders from cycling fans who regard that dominance with more than a degree of cynicism. There was only the booing that has become commonplace during this race.
But the manner in which Thomas rode yesterday, indeed the manner in which he has contested this Tour, deserved the spectators’ admiration. He has now had that yellow target on his back for more than 850 miles.
Thomas anticipated a significant attack on the Tourmalet and so it proved, with both Landa and Bardet riding away on the first section of the punishing 17km climb and reaching the summit more than two minutes clear of the With more than 90km of racing on this last mountain stage to go, and the Col des Borderes and the Aubisque to come, it was captivating stuff.
Thomas was travelling safely among his Sky team-mates with not the slightest hint of panic.
But as the gap grew wider, so came the need for a response.
It came in the form of the real race for the podium places. Primoz Roglic versus Froome in the battle for third. Tom Dumoulin versus Thomas in the duel for the title. Roglic attacked on the Soulor and Froome cracked, not for the first time in this race. Dumoulin attacked too but soon discovered there was no shaking off Thomas, even with the Welshman now isolated.
So furious was the pace that Landa and Bardet were caught inside the last two kilometres of the last climb of this magnificent race, with Froome then relying on his descending skills to rejoin the group including all the key contenders bar Roglic. The Slovenian had jumped clear going over the summit, and despite accusations of drafting behind a motorbike, took enough time to displace Froome in third.
Thomas, meanwhile, was superb, following Froome — now playing the role of super-domestique for a team-mate who has served him so selflessly over the years — as the road snaked towards Laruns. Even then, Thomas was not done, stealing another six seconds from his closest rivals in a sprint for the line.
Whether Froome even has the desire to wrestle back third place today, or indeed the strength given Roglic’s own prowess as a TT rider, remains to be seen.
But with Thomas boasting a lead of two minutes and five seconds on Dumoulin, the race for yellow looks over. The Dutchman may be the world champion but Thomas is no mug at the discipline, having claimed the British title and won the opening 13km time trial at last year’s Tour.
Thomas now appears almost certain to add his name to the list of Grand Tour winners, a victory that will sit alongside his two Olympic gold medals and three world titles as a pursuiter.
It will be a popular victory too, and a tonic to the controversy and criticism that has accompanied Sky on these past two years.
Until last night Thomas had hardly faced any questions about doping. Perhaps because, as impressive as he has been here in France, there has not been a sudden spike in performance that has seen him power away from the peloton on a major climb and instantly arouse suspicion. Nothing that has echoes of the sport’s darker past.
‘I don’t know, what can you say?’ he said last night when asked about doping. ‘I do it the right way. The team does it the right way. We train super hard. There is nothing I can do to prove it but it will stand the test of time.
‘The team here is super strong. It is not just about having good legs but good heads. You saw that today in the way we didn’t panic. There is nothing more to say. I work super hard and I’ve had some bad luck, so it’s nice to know that it is paying off.’
That bad luck made him understandably nervous about today. ‘It’s squeaky bum time,’ he said, borrowing the phrase coined by Alex Ferguson. ‘But I’d rather be two minutes ahead than two minutes down.’