THOMAS IS NOT DONE & DUSTED
GERAINT THOMAS hit the deck on a day of Tour de France carnage on the cobbles – but just about kept his dream of a second Yellow Jersey alive.
Toppled in the crash which forced Australian Jack Haig to retire hurt and quit the race, Thomas (above, second right) and fellow Brit Adam Yates fought hard to limit their losses.
But Primoz Roglic, runner-up in 2020 and one of the favourites, dislocated his right shoulder in another crash – and although the Slovenian managed to put it back in its socket in amazing DIY repairs by the roadside, he lost two minutes in the general classification.
Roglic, who came a cropper because of a stray bale of hay on a roundabout, said: “I couldn’t put it immediately back in on the road so I had to sit in the chair of a spectator. I have a technique to put it back in.”
Defending champion Tadej Pogacar will be hard to catch now after stealing another 13sec on his main GC rivals.
Thomas, the 2018 champion, moved into the top 10 and is 50sec off the lead but, ominously, 31sec behind Pogacar (below), who negotiated 97.5 miles from Lille to Arenberg, including 12 miles of cobbles, proficiently.
Emerging from the dust clouds of the pave blocks, Thomas said: “After sector six or seven of the cobbles, when I looked round I was quite surprised how few of us were left.
“But about two minutes later, Jack and some of the Bahrain Victorious boys went down in front of me and I got taken out. I nearly missed it, but I had to chase back and I had no idea who was where by the end. It was a case of survival.”
Ineos Grenadiers road captain Luke Rowe said: “It was a messy day – crash after crash after crash.
“People talk about the cobbles, but it’s mainly a fight for position as once you are there it’s hard to move up through the pinch points.”
Aussie Simon Clarke, who began 2022 without a team after the break-up of Qhubeka-Assos, claimed his first Tour de France stage victory in a photo finish to pip Taco van der Hoorn on the line.
It also gave four-times Yellow Jersey winner Chris Froome’s team, Israel Premier-Tech, their first stage win, and Clarke said: “I had no team last winter until Israel rang me up and gave me that chance – it gives you a reality check.
“I moved to Europe when I was 16 and I’m 36 on the second rest day of the Tour. It’s been 20 years now and today, finally, the dream comes true.”
Wout Van Aert remains in the Yellow Jersey by 13 seconds after stage five.