Geraint Thomas happy to ‘prove a few people wrong’
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)Geraint Thomas is on course for a third Tour de France podium finish in four years going into the final weekend of the race.
Thomas cemented his third place overall on the final mountain stage to Hautacam yesterday and has an advantage of more than three minutes over fourth-placed David Gaudu.
With flat stages today and on Sunday, plus tomorrow’s individual time trial, where he is expected to be quicker than Frenchman Gaudu, Thomas, barring disaster, ought to finish behind yellow jersey wearer Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar.
And for the 36-year-old it was the perfect opportunity to silence critics who suggested he was a spent force after a difficult Tour last year where he ended up in 41st place, having won in 2019 and finished runner-up the next year.
“The Tour wasn’t good, the Olympics, it was just a tough time,” he said. “And it was good to turn it around and prove a few people wrong.”
Vingegaard refused to crack on the final mountain stage as he went wheel to wheel with two-time winner Pogacar, who had been bidding for a hat-trick of titles. The Dane won by over a minute and leads his Slovenian rival by 3min 26sec.
