Thomas vs. Froome: the battle for the yellow jersey

For years, Geraint Thomas has been “the most loyal of lieutenants”, said Tom Cary in The Sunday Telegraph. Since joining Team Sky in 2010, the Welsh cyclist has played a supporting role at the Tour de France: first to Bradley Wiggins, then to Chris Froome. But this year’s race has followed a different pattern. Froome, who has won four of the past five Tours, remains Sky’s nominal leader. Yet at the start of the final week, it was Thomas who wore the yellow jersey, while Froome was second. Last week, the Welshman won two successive Alpine stages – a rare achievement on the Tour. And while he insists that he “still sees Froome as the team’s leader”, it’s becoming harder and harder to believe him.

Thomas has previously kept in the background, but he is successful in his own right, said William Fotheringham in The Observer. He is a two-time Olympic champion and last month he won the Critérium du Dauphiné. But his greatest achievement on the Tour has been to “gain time incrementally, without making it look too blatantly” like he is trying to oust Froome. Sky have been here before, said Lionel Birnie in The Sunday Times. During the 2012 Tour, they struggled to “balance the ambitions” of team leader Wiggins and Froome; in the end, Wiggins won the Tour. This latest dilemma underlines Sky’s dominance: “the biggest problem they face in this race is how to win and to keep everyone happy”.