Tour de France 2018: Geraint Thomas is good enough to win, but he is ready to support



[ad_1]

The last month of each summer term at Whitchurch High School was dying for Geraint Thomas

He was watching the end of the school day before rushing home for the last moments of the stage of the Tour de France. Growing up, Jan Ullrich was an unlikely idol. "He was the underdog and he's pretty British to support the underdog," he says.

At Team Sky, it's a similar brand for Thomas. He knows that he will start tomorrow's Tour at Noirmoutier-en-l Ile as a glorified B plan of the team behind Chris Froome

. a post in which Richie Porte was previously as Sky teammate turned team leader. to BMC, and the Australian says of Thomas: "In any other team, Geraint would be the absolute leader.I like him.He is one of the most normal guys you will meet in the peloton. "

The two players exchanged SMS during their respective victories on lap: Porte at the Tour de Suisse and Thomas at the Critérium du Dauphiné, a Froome race won before three of his four successes at the Tour

Thomas says, "I'm probably in the best shape I've ever had when entering the Tour." Winning an equally rugged race against some of the world's best climbers is a massive boost. "[19659002] Froome starts freed from the chains of a potential doping ban, having been allowed to compete only this week after its high reading salbutamol at the Vuelta of last year in Spain by the governing body of cycling , the UCI

But there remains the question of how he will behave after a victorious but painful Giro d'Italia.

And Thomas warns against the reaction of the local Tour crowds, especially The light of the ASO race organizers actually saying that they did not want Froome to compete, can become icy. The team was shamefully conspired at the official unveiling yesterday, an omen of things to come.

"It could go both ways," he says. "You come out to abuse people, but I do not pay attention until they touch you or throw things."

Main threats for the champion

Adam Yates
Twin Brother Simon kept honest Froome for much of the Giro, now Adam (right) has the chance to improve his best lap of the fourth rank.

Mikel Landa
A year ago, Landa was Froome's trusted lieutenant. This time, the Movistar team leader will attempt to be the architect of his loss on the French roads

Richie Porte
Another former Sky teammate, Aussie Porte, is considered the bookies' favorite to push his close friend

Thomas describes the leak of the confidential Vuelta test of Froome, in which it was found that he had doubled the authorized dose of the drug against the drug. asthma in his system, which was bad for him and for the sport in general. Thomas often says that Froome has all his support.

"I never thought that he had gone out of his way to cheat," he says. Olympian one year. "It was just trying to prove the reasons for this result, he was still in favor of continuing to run because he had done nothing wrong."

While that all that Froome touched turned into gold during the big tours, Thomas was less lucky. Last year, he wore the yellow jersey of the Tour for the first four days, a career high to equal his victory in Dauphine.

But all the good work was defeated when he was shot down dramatically on the ninth stage by Pole Rafael Majka. his collarbone. His hopes for Giro had also ended a few weeks ago after participating in another accident, this time involving a motorcycle parked.


"I immediately knew something was wrong," says Thomas of his accident. "The doc said my collarbone was broken, but I still restarted before realizing it was not good, and I ended up stopping 10k later. It was not the best day. "

What is possible for Thomas on his best day at the Tour is unclear, in part because of Froome. If the quadruple winner is at its peak, he knows that he will have to play the second violin, but if he was to struggle, Thomas would become leader.

"I like to be a leader and have the team behind you," he says. "Especially a team like Sky, it's so strong, it's a good pressure to have, but I do not know how it's going to happen." The team said I should have my chance We will go to the Alps and see, many things can happen. "

After seeing it closely, Thomas is not about to downplay his boss's chances. team. "We do not know how it is going to be, but we have seen at the Giro that you can never move it," he says.

For Thomas, he hopes to be leading a race he dreamed of competing in the kid, especially now he has a sense of belonging among the best.

"I remember the first time I went on a mountain scene with Alberto Contador and that kind of guy," he says. "It was raining and I took the group to the end.It was a buzz.This is the kind of thing you dream about."


How rivals plan to d & rsquo; Stop Team Sky

Chris Froome will once again be the favorite of the Tour de France this year, and is trying to get a fifth win. Standard Sport has been meeting with three leading runners to find out how to dethrone Team Sky's featured man (above) on French roads starting tomorrow …

& # 39; united, it can be cracked & # 39;

Richie Porte (Australia, BMC Racing)

"He's a talented runner and you've seen how strong the Giro is with all the noise that's going on around him. he has a team of superstars, with drivers like Wout Poels and Geraint Thomas, who would lead other teams in their own right.But the human of Froome.It is hard to beat but it is not certainly not impossible.I think the trick is to opt for an idea us against them, and I'm not just talking about BMC against Sky, but all the other drivers – and there are a lot of challengers for the victory on the Tour – to work to make "

" The first nine days will be vital "

Adam Yates (GB, Mitchelton-Scott)

" How to beat Froome? It's a good question, and not a question to which we have managed to answer. For me, it is the strength of the team around you. I have the impression that I will be treated well enough, and that we will be able to cause problems to Froome and Team Sky. There are opportunities in these nine days of attack, and we have powerful and powerful guys to do. Simon [twin brother] had the advantage over him for much of the Giro but beating him was not ultimately something he managed to do at the Giro, but I think we have a lot learned in a team. "

" Tests his tiredness after the Giro "

Mikel Landa (Spain, Movistar)

" Like every year in the Tour de France, Froome takes the start as a favorite. He won the Giro d'Italia, he finished this race in great shape as we have seen and I'm sure he'll be strong again for the start of the Tour. By saying that, he will start at least in a solid form but he could pay after his efforts in the Giro during the last week, and we can all hope that he is tired. We must test this fatigue as well as the continuous race, especially that of last week where the legs should hurt badly. "

[ad_2]
Source link