BERNAL TOLD TO FOLLOW THOMAS’ LEAD

GERAINT THOMAS has regained control of the Team Ineos captaincy – taking the limelight away from young sidekick Egan Bernal.

Britain’s defending

Tour de France champion turned a five-second deficit on 22-year-old Colombian sensation Bernal into a four-second advantage with a storming ride up La Planche des Belles Filles on Thursday.

And as the leaderboard remained unchanged on stage seven’s uneventful trundle through eastern France, the Ineos management revealed the change of narrative suited their plans.

Sporting director Nico Portal said: “What was reassuring was to see Geraint at this level. It’s good for Egan, who has a lot of pressure on him, a lot of expectation from his public, especially back home in Colombia.”

Team principal Sir Dave Brailsford (above) had talked up Bernal’s chances of winning Le Tour last week, but he conceded that Thomas has regained top billing.

He said: “People treat Egan and Geraint the same way, but although they are both very, very talented riders, I think you have to treat Geraint as a 33-year-old and Egan as a 22-year-old.

“You feel yourself falling into the trap all time, thinking he’s so good that he’s got all this experience – but he hasn’t. He has to spend time in those shoes, absorb it, get used to it.”

Thomas (above) is bracing himself for a long weekend of grind after surging into the top five ahead of all his main rivals in the general classification.

But a mundane, six-hour spin to Chalonsur-saone gave him a chance to recharge his batteries and he said: “It was a long day, but it was better than riding 230km in full-on crosswinds. I don’t think tomorrow will affect the GC, but it will certainly be a tough day.

“Yesterday, I didn’t know what to expect going in there, but I felt good and it was nice to finish ahead of all the other GC guys. “Everyone thinks this next stage will be a breakaway day, so there will be a big fight for that. “The next two days will be tough.” Dylan Groenewegen timed his weave through the pack to perfection, taking the honours in a stage seven photo finish from Caleb Ewan.

The Dutch sprinter said: “The first day I crashed really hard, and in the next days I was f **** d, but yesterday I felt good again.

“Every time I sprint against Caleb it’s really close, but this time I could beat him so I’m pleased.”

Overnight leader Giulio Ciccone kept the Yellow Jersey ahead of today’s eighth stage, a 124-mile route from Macon to

Saint Etienne, featuring almost three miles of categorised climbs.