‘Humble’ Thomas deserves win, says Hoy
Sir Chris Hoy will be in Paris tomorrow to witness the culmination of this year’s Tour de France and he hopes he will be cheering as former track teammate Geraint Thomas rides on the Champs-élysées wearing the famous yellow jersey.
With just two stages left, the second of which is traditionally a formality, Thomas has a lead of just over two minutes and, barring a significant mishap, looks set to follow Sir Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome and become only the third Briton to win the race.
It would be a popular triumph, according to Hoy, who says it will also be just reward for the “humble” Welshman.
Hoy said: “It is an exciting time for British cycling, to potentially have a third British Tour de France winner. Just 10 years ago we were still saying it would never happen.
“But it’s not just that, it’s the way Geraint has done it and the way he is himself. Having played the team role for so long, he has served his time.”
The two were Olympic team-mates in Beijing and Hoy was pleased to hear the Team Sky rider credit that experience with helping him cope with the challenge of retaining the yellow jersey day after day.
“I loved his quote when he was asked how he deals with the pressure. He said: ‘You think this is pressure? Try stepping on the track for an Olympic final, that’s pressure!’ But it is not just about dealing with the pressure, he has been the one dishing out the pain on the climbs and fingers crossed he can get the job done.
“He is 32 and people may have thought that if it was going to happen for him, it would have happened before now but there he is. He’s had his trials and tribulations, crashes and setbacks. He was even sprayed with pepper spray and someone tried to pull him off his bike on Thursday, so he has had a lot to deal with. Nobody will begrudge him the victory if he gets it. He is such a popular guy and, in the track team, he was a big name but always very humble.”