Tag: Geraint Thomas

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Thomas Takes the Lead Down Under

Geraint Thomas wins stage 2 Santos Tour Down UnderThe 116.5km, second stage of the Santos Tour Down Under has been won by Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas. The stage, technically known as the ‘Hahn Superdry Stage’, which runs from Mount Barker to Rostrevor and is the shortest in the event’s history, saw Thomas make an impressively powerful climb up the closing stage drag of Corkscrew Road before a blistering sprint to the finish that saw a victory comfortable enough for the Welshman to celebrate ahead of the line despite the chasing pack. The win puts the Olympic Gold Medallist (Team Pursuit) in overall lead ahead of Stage Three –139km, Unley to Stirling.

 

Speaking after the day’s drama a clearly ecstatic Thomas said, ‘I’m really happy with that. I’ve worked hard since the Olympics trying to lose the track weight and I’ve got some good kilometres in over the winter. I wanted to start this year strong. I knew I had decent form but you never know how well everyone else is going… To get the win is a massive bonus for all the hard work over the winter.’

 

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GB Announces World Cycling Championships Squads

No great surprise to hear that Mark Cavendish is to defend his titles at the upcoming World Cycling Championships in Limburg, Holland (September 16-23), part of the nine-man Road Race team that is to comprise Tour de France and Olympic Gold Medallist Bradley Wiggins, Steve Cummings, Alex Dowsett, Chris Froome, Luke Rowe, Ian Stannard, Ben Swift and Jonathan Tiernan-Locke. Froome will also represent GB in the Time Trials along with Alex Dowsett, something of a surprise double act which leaves out Geraint Thomas, who failed to make it beyond the long list.

 

The Elite Women’s Road Race squad will be Olympic Silver Medallist Lizzie Armitstead, Emma Pooley, Katie Colclough, Nicole Cooke, Nikki Harris and Sharon Laws, with Pooley also joining Wendy Houvenaghel in the Time Trial.

 

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Three Days in Denmark

This year’s Giro d’Italia couldn’t have gone off to a more dramatic three days of racing as it wound its way through Denmark. The technically demanding ITT Stage One (8.7km) was defined by a 3km stretch of power-sapping head wind that finally saw victory for BMC Racing’s Taylor Phinney in a time of 10’26”, with Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) nine seconds adrift for second place and Garmin-Barracuda’s Alex Rasmussen on +13″ for third. Thomas commented afterwards: ‘I definitely tried to keep a bit back for the last 3k and that headwind and then I emptied the tank all the way to the line.’

 

Day Two – flat 206km, Herning to Herning – was all about the bunch sprint finish that saw an utterly convincing win in a time of 4:53’12 from Team Sky’s Mark Cavendish: ‘Everybody handled it well and we stayed together as a team. I was really looked after at the finish and kept sheltered. Geraint took me perfect and went exactly when he was supposed to. I was able to come off him and win the stage so I’m very, very happy.’

 

But what a difference 24 hours makes: Day Three proved disastrous for Cav when a chaotic finish saw the World Champion involved in a high-speed pile up with race leader Taylor Phinney. Just as Cavendish was looking likely to make it two wins in a row at the end of the 190km stage Roberto Ferrari moved out sharply and took Cav’s front wheel out from under him. Although hurt, Cavendish was able to carry his bike across the line and is expected to continue his participation in the Giro; Team Sky Doctor, Richard Freeman, said: ‘Mark’s had a bad crash and is very uncomfortable but we’re taking care of him. We’re travelling as a team to Verona.’ The Stage Three win went to Australia’s Matt Goss (GreenEDGE) in 4:20’53” with today – Tuesday May 8 – being a rest day as proceedings shift to Italian soil ready for tomorrow’s Team Time Trials in Verona.

 

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Thomas Takes Prologue

A first/third finish for Team Sky at yesterday’s 3.34km Prologue in the Tour de Romandie, with Geraint Thomas finishing in 3:29, Mark Cavendish with +6 and RadioShack Nissan’s  Giacomo Nizzolo filling in the second place gap on +4.  Bradley Wiggins, competing for the first time with Cavendish in the same team and going out in later, wetter, conditions, finished a respectable 9 seconds off that of Thomas.


Speaking at the end of Day 1, Thomas said: ‘I always knew that I had a good chance. But it’s one thing knowing that you have a good chance and another thing winning… Obviously the weather played a big part in that but there was only really one corner and you can only lose so much time. But it’s great to win and at a lovely race as well… Today was an objective as it’s similar to the track but for the rest of the race I’ll help Cav in the sprints on which ever stages come down to that and then look after Bradley. He’s here to do a good ride on the GC.’

 

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Record Start at Track World Championships

Two Gold medals and a world record created something of a fantasy opening for Team GB at the Track World Championships in Australia yesterday (April 4), but there was disappointment too, particularly for Jess Varnish and Victoria Pendleton. The Men’s Team Pursuit squad – Edward Clancy, Steven Burke, Peter Kennaugh and Geraint Thomas – stunned the Oz home crowd by taking top spot in a record time of 3:53.295, with Ben Swift scoring the Brits second Gold in the men’s Scratch race. On the flip side Jess Varnish and Victoria Pendleton only managed a disappointing fourth in the Women’s Team Sprint having been nudged out of the medals by China and Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny and Chris Hoy, who had been expected to race for Bronze in their opening event, found themselves relegated for a minor infringement regarding illegal changes between riders.

 

As if proof were really needed that the Championships are likely to continue to be an emotional rollercoaster the latest news from day two (April 5) is that the Women’s Team Pursuit squad of Laura Trott, Danielle King and Joanna Roswell have set a new World Record of 3:16.850 in qualifying, setting them up for the possibility of matching yesterday’s Mens’ success.

 

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Strong Brit Line-up for Sky ToB

ToB Sky SquadTeam Sky have announced their line up for the Tour of Britain (September 11-18) with Welshman Geraint Thomas leading the squad. The 25-year-old Olympic Gold Medallist takes his place after a blistering display at the Tour de France that saw him resplendent in the young rider’s white jersey from Stage One to Seven and with a total of three top-ten finishes. Thomas will be joined by his fellow Le Tour team-mate Ben Swift – a Tour of Britain stage-winner for Team Katusha back in 2009 – and fellow Brits Peter Kennaugh and Alex Dowsett, the latter having just taken his first pro win at the Tour du Poitou. The six-man squad is completed by the Australian duo of Michael Rogers (a double Tour of Britain top-ten finisher) and Mathew Hayman, a member of the 2010 Tour of Britain squad. Thomas’s inclusion marks his sixth ToB edition; he has finished sixth and 12th in the last two years.

 

ToB race director Mick Bennett has commented on the squad: “The announcement of such a strong Team Sky line-up clearly sends a message that the team is serious about winning the Tour of Britain. In Geraint, Ben, Alex and Peter they have four of the finest British cyclists currently racing, all of whom are more than capable of winning The Tour of Britain.”

 

 

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Sky Still the Limit for Thomas

Geraint Thomas has undeniably been one of the brightest stars at this year’s Tour de France – he sported the Best Young Rider’s white jersey for most of the first week and is currently holding ninth place on the overall Youth standings and tenth as a Climber. Something of a relief then to Team Sky that, just days after suggesting he was in talks with other outfits, he has confirmed that he will be renewing with them for a further 3 years, taking him through to the end of the 2014 season. Commenting on the renegotiated commitment the Welshman says, “The team have shown their potential over the last 18 months and I am delighted to have been a part of that success. The management have shown real faith in me as a rider and I feel like I’m improving all the time. The future is really exciting for Team Sky and British Cycling and I’m thrilled I will be able to play a part in it.”

 

Team Sky principle Dave Brailsford (who is also performance director at British Cycling) showed understandable relief at the development: “We have been determined from the start to build and develop a team around the very best home-grown talent like Geraint. The last two weeks at the Tour de France have underlined again his world class abilities and we look forward to seeing even more from him over the next three years.”

 

The only potential fly in the ointment for Thomas is that his contract is likely to commit him to participation in the 2012 Tour de France which is scheduled to end just days before the start of the London Olympic Games; with the Cardiff-born cycling star already having won gold as part of the team pursuit in the Beijing Games, the timing could jeopardise his chances of repeating that success.

 

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Thomas in Combative Mood

Geraint ThomasSky’s Welsh wonder Geraint Thomas served up one of the most impressive and determined rides of the Tour de France yesterday (July 14) on the 211km Cugnaux to Luz-Ardiden Stage 12. Although ultimately the big prize of the day went to Spaniard Samuel Sánchez of Euskaltel-Euskadi (thus robbing French riders of a Bastille Day victory) Thomas was the rightful winner of the “Combative” award for his blistering display of leg work across two major peeks and a climb finish.  At one point he looked certain to be the first Brit to bag a High Mountain stage since Robert Millar back in 1989, with Tour commentator Chris Boardman succinctly putting it: “This was the day when he discovered what he is capable of and what he can do.” As if he had set out to prove that pride really does come after and not before a fall, Thomas had twice lost control of the bike on descents and careered off the road, on one occasion leaping clear of his bike to avoid an unfavourable looking plummet over the edge.

 

But as Thomas’s star continues to rise, Alberto Contador’s certainly appears to be in retrograde – cracking under the mounting pressure from the likes of the Schleck brothers and Cadel Evans, he seemed to pretty much give up the ghost in the final few kilometres on a stage that, in previous years, he would have made his own.