I was gutted that I couldn’t finish the Tour,butmy knees didn’t enjoy those cobbles... and my skeleton being rattled around like a cocktail shaker
MIKE WALTERS INSIDE FOOTBALL.. AND OUTSIDE THE BOX When you get a phone call saying you have three months to live, you discover how quickly life can change
AS the Tour de France peloton reaches the Alps this weekend, from a safe distance Geoff Thomas will feel the torture of every hairpin bend.
If his ageing knees had dealt him a kinder hand, the former England footballer would have been with his intrepid band of amateur cyclists tackling the full route – all 2,081 miles of it – seven days ahead of the professionals.
But a week into his sixth expedition to raise funds for Cure Leukaemia, blood cancer survivor Thomas, 57, had to retire hurt.
Instead of raising a glass to his 19th ‘anniversary’ on July 4 – the date when he was told he had three months to live – with his own mini-peloton, the Crystal Palace legend counted his blessings at home.
In his absence, the Tour 21* still expect to raise another £1million for Cure Leukaemia.
Thomas, who captained Palace against Manchester United in the 1990 FA Cup final, said: “Sooner or later I knew my knees might not agree with riding up mountains because I had cruciate ligament operations on both and I’ve got grade four rheumatoid arthritis.
“They didn’t enjoy the cobbles, 11 segments of your skeleton being rattled around like a cocktail shaker, in northern France.
“That’s when I knew, deep down, that I wasn’t going to make it up the big mountains.
“I was gutted to climb off but it was time to pass on the baton.”
Thomas has already climbed his biggest mountain
because he is still here. But in July 2003 the outlook was bleak for a robust, nine-cap England midfielder.
He said: “It was one of those moments that stops you in your tracks. I went to see my GP expecting to get a pep talk and a few paracetemols.
“In hindsight, the danger signs were there – night sweats, exhaustion, a lump in my stomach, losing weight without trying – and I ignored them for months.
“The doc gave me a blood test and, normally, you get the results a few days later.
“But within hours I got a phone call which changed my whole outlook.
“My only experience of
oncology had been losing my father to lung cancer 10 years before, he smoked like a trooper, 60 or 80 a day.
“But when you get a phone call to say you’ve got leukaemia and maybe three months to live, you discover how quickly life can change.
“My daughters were only seven and 10 at the time. I didn’t want them to grow up without their dad. Nineteen years on, I’m still here, still grateful.”
Thomas was recommended a stem cell transplant by his consultant, Dr Charlie Craddock, and luck was on his side when tests revealed his sister, Kay, was a perfect match.
By January 2005, he was in remission and the wonders of medical science did the rest. Thomas immediately resolved to convert his reprieve into helping others survive.
He said: “I didn’t know that much about cycling but Lance Armstrong was a shining beacon of positivity.
“He gained notoriety for other things, but he beat stage four
cancer. His book [It’s Not About The Bike] resonated with so many people and his yellow wristband raised millions.
“When you see so many people taken by leukaemia, it makes you think, ‘What can I do to help?’.
After bouncing a few ideas off friends, I decided to get on my bike. After going into remission in January 2005, I started preparing for my first Tour de France and I was so weak I could only manage six miles on the first ride.
“I only did my first 100-mile day in the saddle two weeks before the Tour itself.”
The first Tour was his hardest by far. Going up the Col du Galibier, one of the peloton’s most-feared signature climbs, he recalled the temperature nudging 90 degrees at the foot of the mountain, riding through clouds and being greeted by snow at the summit.
Halfway up he told his comrades to carry on and meet him at the top. “I was thinking, ‘What the hell am I putting myself through all this for?’
“I’m not spiritual, but something lit the fire inside.
“I thought of people I met who didn’t make it and I broke down.
“At the same time, it gave me the strength to reach the top. After making it to Paris, you don’t ever want to see a bike again and I didn’t plan to do another one.
“So to set off on my sixth Tour, even if I didn’t make it past the first week, wasn’t bad.”