Geraint Thomas

This is the page about Geraint Thomas. The former track cyclist succeeded in winning the Tour de France in 2018. IDLProCycling.com keeps a close eye on all news related to Thomas, along with maintaining a biography of his career.

Geraint Thomas was born in Wales in 1986. It was in his homeland where he first became involved with cycling, focusing on track cycling - and with great success. As part of the British team pursuit, he won several international titles: once as the European Champion and three times as the World Champion. Thomas also found success at the Olympic Games, winning gold medals with his teammates in Beijing and London.

For a long time, Thomas balanced his track career with road cycling. After two stints as an intern, he secured his first professional contract with the modest Barloworld team, where he was teammates with Chris Froome, among others. While he didn't achieve any wins there, he did earn a contract with Team Sky, the precursor to his current team. In Team Sky, the Welshman developed into a versatile rider, winning time trials, proving his capability in climbing, and achieving success in the classics, such as his victory in the E3 Harelbeke in 2015.

Thomas' greatest achievement: Winning the Tour de France

However, Thomas' most significant achievement came in 2018. Surprisingly, he emerged as the strongest climber in that year's Tour de France. With his excellent time-trialing skills, he maintained a commanding lead throughout the three weeks. Finishing nearly two minutes ahead of Tom Dumoulin, he triumphantly crossed the finish line in Paris wearing the yellow jersey. While everything fell into place during that Tour, Thomas's career with INEOS faced challenges post-victory, including a rumored indulgent lifestyle that prevented him from replicating that performance, although he still aspires to do so.

In 2019, Thomas came close again. After shedding his excess winter weight, crashes disrupted his season. Despite a less-than-ideal preparation for the Tour de France, he still managed to finish second, behind teammate Egan Bernal and ahead of Steven Kruijswijk. The 2020 Tour was again his target, this time alongside Bernal and Chris Froome as INEOS co-leaders. However, Thomas did not participate in that year's Tour de France. In the 2020 Giro d'Italia, held in October, Thomas was at the start line but had to withdraw after a crash in the fourth stage.

In the 2021 Tour, Thomas again struggled to find success. He failed to make a significant impact and finished in a modest 41st place in the general classification. The fact that he won the Tour de Romandie and finished third in the Dauphiné just before the Tour made his disappointing performance in the Tour even more bitter.

In 2022, Thomas once again won a Tour preparation race, this time the Tour de Suisse. He also performed well in the Tour itself. The INEOS rider finished third in the overall standings, behind Vingegaard and Pogacar.

Roglic spoils Thomas' Giro party

In 2023, Thomas took a different approach. Now 37, he headed to the Giro as co-leader with Tao Geoghegan Hart. Alongside his teammate, he battled against Remco Evenepoel, Primoz Roglic, and Joao Almeida. The veteran held his own and narrowly missed a stage win on the ninth day, being beaten by a second in the time trial to Cesena by Evenepoel, the Belgian national champion in time trial. Thomas didn't have to worry about Evenepoel after that, as the Belgian dropped out of the Italian tour due to a covid infection. This unexpectedly put Thomas in the pink jersey, but Roglic and Geoghegan Hart were just seconds behind. In the mountain stages that followed, Roglic seemed to falter, but he seemed to find a new challenger in Almeida. However, Thomas appeared on course for his first-ever Giro victory, but then came the feared final time trial on Monte Lussari. On its steep slopes, Roglic had a phenomenal day and managed to knock Thomas out of the leader's jersey.

After finishing tenth in the time trial at the World Championships in Glasgow, Thomas moved on to the Vuelta for his second grand tour of the season. In Spain, due to crashes, the Welshman rarely played a significant role and finished 31st in the general classification. Thomas will continue to ride for INEOS Grenadiers in 2024 and 2025, hosting The Geraint Thomas Cycling Club.