Thomas third despite crash

WITH a skid and a fall, Geraint Thomas’s pursuit for time trial gold was dramatically downgraded to a salvation mission for bronze yesterday. he achieved that lesser target — an achievement given that he crashed just two minutes into the 37.4km trial — before raising questions about whether the race in Wolverhampton was sufficiently organised. his reservations centred on the absence of barriers during his reconnaissance lap of the circuit on Wednesday. With that intel available, he might have better judged the sharp left-hand bend that wrecked his chances. In braking, the Welshman’s rear wheel kicked out, hit the barrier and deposited the former Tour de France winner on the ground. It cost the favourite about 30 seconds, which was galling because of the margin of 28.49sec to the winner, rohan Dennis of Australia, who won in 46min 21sec. england’s Fred Wright — the son of the actor Philip Wright, who has appeared in Eastenders and Line of Duty — was second. Thomas (left) blamed himself but did point to the organisation of the race, saying: ‘The recon I did was in traffic so there were no barriers up or anything, so it was pretty pointless, other than knowing where the hills and downhills are. It was just not as organised as what we are used to but it’s my fault at the end of the day.’