Daily Times

PARIS: Geraint Thomas tightened Team Sky’s grip on the Tour de France when he handed the British outfit their sixth title in seven years on Sunday and there is no sign that their domination will end anytime soon. Thomas produced a near flawless performance to become the third British and Team Sky rider to triumph after Bradley Wiggins (2012) and Chris Froome (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017). Dutchman Tom Dumoulin finished second for Team Sunweb after also taking the runner-up spot in the Giro d’Italia won by Froome, who ended up third overall. Norway’s Alexander Kristoff won the final stage after 116km from Houilles to the Champs-Elysees, largely a long procession during which Thomas enjoyed some champagne before heading to the finishing line in a bunch sprint. “When I rode it for the first time in 2007 that was insane… just to finish the race and to be part of it,” said Thomas. “Now to be riding round (the Champs Elysees) and winning it, you’ve got to pinch yourself. It won’t really sink in probably for a few months. Right now it’s like a whirlwind. I seem to be floating around on cloud nine.”

Froome’s failure to beat Thomas also showed how difficult it is to complete a Giro-Tour double, with Marco Pantani being the last man to achieve the feat in 1998 during the doping-tainted era. Thomas, who won two mountain stages – including one on the top of the iconic Alpe d’Huez – emerged as the strongest man in the race as he gained ground on his two rivals after taking the yellow jersey at the end of stage 11. The Cardiff City Hall had been lit in yellow to honour Thomas’s triumph on Sunday.

Absolute strongest: Only in the final time trial did he lose time on Dumoulin and Froome, but he had already virtually wrapped up the title in the mountains. “Thomas was the absolute strongest over the last three weeks,” said Dumoulin. Thomas’s victory will come as a relief for Sky, especially in the wake of Froome’s popularity nose-diving in France after he was cleared of a doping offence months after testing positive for excessive levels of an asthma drug. Froome and other Team Sky riders, including Thomas, were booed by the crowd on the side of the road. The four-time champion was the main target of the jeers, with one spectator even slapping his shoulder in the climb up to l’Alpe d’Huez.

Published in Daily Times, July 30^th 2018.