Thomas’s yellow jersey sells for £3,200
Geraint Thomas’s Tour de France yellow jersey, signed by the man himself, was the highest grossing item at the Dave Rayner Fund charity auction in Leeds on Saturday night.
The jersey, the star lot in an impressive line-up that included Chris Froome’s pink Giro d’italia jersey, his red Vuelta a España jersey and Simon Yates’s red Vuelta leader’s jersey, was bought by endurance cyclist and training camp business owner James Golding for £3,200.
In total the fund raised £27,000 on the night from an auction that also featured a signed green jersey from Peter Sagan, a signed world champion’s jersey from cyclo-cross star Tom Pidcock, luxury holidays and other memorabilia.
Meanwhile, Stuart Balfour was awarded the fund’s rider of the year award after a season that included winning the prestigious under-23 edition of the Bretagne Classic Ouest France.
The 21-year-old told Cycling Weekly: “I had a team-mate up front, he came back and we came over the final climb and I hit out just after the steep section on the false flat and managed to hold him off for the finish 2km away.”
He added: “Getting this award means a lot, especially with everyone who has won it before.”
Balfour said he will stay with his current team Côtes d’armor in 2019 but hopes to get an opportunity to take the next step up, possibly with Israel Academy, which the team has links with, in the coming years.