Geraint Howell Thomas,OBE (/ˈɡɛraɪnt/GHERR-eyent,Welsh:[ˈɡɛraint]; born 25 May 1986) is a former Welsh professionalracing cyclist who rode forUCI WorldTeamIneos Grenadiers,[5]Wales andGreat Britain.[6] He was one of the few riders in the modern era to achieve significant elite success as both a track and road rider, with notable victories in the velodrome, in one-day racing and in stage racing. On the track, he won three World Championships (2007,2008, and2012), and two Olympic gold medals (2008 and2012), while on the road he won the2018 Tour de France becoming the firstWelshman and third British rider to win it.[7][8]
His early successes were in track cycling, in which he was a specialist in theteam pursuit. He won three World Championships and was Olympic gold medallist twice, in2008 and2012. Thomas had an early win on the road at the 2004Paris–Roubaix Juniors and later had a senior victory at the 2010British National Road Race Championships. Leaving track cycling to focus solely on the road, he subsequently found success in both one-day/classic races such as the2014 Commonwealth Games road race and the2015 E3 Harelbeke, and in one week stage races, most notably at the2016 Paris–Nice, the2017 Tour of the Alps, the2018 Critérium du Dauphiné, the2021 Tour de Romandie and the2022 Tour de Suisse.
In cycling'sgrand tours, Thomas was initially a leaddomestique toChris Froome in his victories. He won the first stage of the2017 Tour de France, anindividual time trial, to become the first Welshman to wear the Tour'syellow jersey. He later crashed in that race, as well as in the2017 Giro d'Italia. Thomas became the first Welshman to win theTour de France when he won the race in2018. He gained the yellow jersey by winning stage 11, extended his lead by winning stage 12, and retained the lead for the remainder of the race. In the same year he won theBBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, becoming the first Welshman to win the award since Ryan Giggs in 2009.[9] In 2019, he confirmed his Grand Tour pedigree when he reached the podium again, having finished runner-up in the Tour de France behindTeam Ineos teammateEgan Bernal. In 2022, Thomas became the first Welshman to win the Tour de Suisse and later that year recorded another podium finish at theTour de France, placing third.[10][11] A fourth grand tour podium, and a first outside of the Tour de France, was won in 2023 as Thomas took second place in theGiro d'Italia, losing the race lead toPrimož Roglič on the penultimate day. A fifth grand tour podium was secured in thefollowing Giro, less than half a minute behind runner-upDanny Martinez, but almost ten minutes behind winnerTadej Pogacar. After the race, Thomas suggested he would no longer race for general classification at the grand tours.[12]
Notable for his all-round ability and adaptability rather than mastery of one specialism, Thomas has been competitive in individual time-trials, on the cobbles, in the Spring classics and in the mountains of Grand Tours, where he was the first rider in the history of the Tour de France to win atAlpe d'Huez while in yellow.
Born inCardiff, Wales, Thomas attendedWhitchurch High School.[13] He began cycling with the Maindy Flyers Cycling Club atMaindy Stadium at the age of 10,[14] where he rode with future Team Sky teammateLuke Rowe, before going on to ride for other local clubs, Cycling Club Cardiff and Cardiff Just in Front. His first race bike was a blueGiant.[15] Following some successes in under-14 and under-16 events, including National Championships, his first notable success came when he won silver medal in the points race at the2004 UEC European Track Championships, at that time a junior and under-23 event.[16]
Thomas became a member ofBritish Cycling's Olympic Academy. He won the Carwyn James Junior Award at theBBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year ceremony. Thomas competed at World Cup events around the world, and was training inSydney, Australia, in February 2005 when he crashed after the rider in front of him hit a piece of metal in the road which was flicked up into Thomas's wheel. He suffered internal bleeding after the piece of metal entered his body during the fall, rupturing hisspleen which subsequently had to be removed.[17][18]
He rode most of his races of 2006 forRecycling.co.uk, but towards the end of 2006 joinedSaunier Duval–Prodir as a stagiaire. He also rode a few races, such as theTour of Britain, for the Great Britain squad.[19]
Thomas made hisTour de France debut at the2007 race as the youngest rider in the race asBarloworld picked up one of the three wildcard spots allocated for the race. He became the first Welsh rider to compete in the race sinceColin Lewis in 1967.[20] Thomas received great support from Welsh fans at the opening of the race, with several following the entire race.[21] He completed his first Tour de France, finishing 140th of 141 finishers.[22]
He was nominated for the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year award in 2007. The winners were announced on 2 December, and Thomas came third in the public vote.[23]
Thomas did not compete in theTour de France, instead, he rode theGiro d'Italia earlier in the season before returning to Britain to concentrate on preparations for theSummer Olympics in Beijing.[24] On discovering that the flags of non-participating nations would not be allowed at the Games, Thomas said: "It would be great to do a lap of honour draped in the Welsh flag if I win a gold medal, and I'm very disappointed if this rule means that would not be possible."[25][26]
On 17 August, Thomas was a member of the Olympic team pursuit squad which broke the world record in the heats with a time of 3:55.202, beating their Russian opponents comfortably to go through to the final ride-off for silver and gold.[27] The following day, on their way to winning the gold medal, the British Team pursuit broke their own world record in a time of 3:53.314, beating their Danish competitors by 6.7 seconds.[28] Thomas had been a possible contender in the individual pursuit, but opted not to ride both events as he did not want to compromise the efforts of his team. He had also been considered to compete in the Madison withBradley Wiggins but it wasMark Cavendish who was selected to do so;Chris Boardman stated that "Geraint keeps surpassing people's expectations".[29]
Following the disqualification of fellowBarloworld teammate,Moisés Dueñas, from the Tour de France, Thomas expressed his strong anti-doping opinions on his blog on the BBC6-0-6 website: "...if someone is fraudulent in a business, wouldn't they be facing a prison term? I don't see how riders taking drugs to win races and lying to their teams is any different. Bang them up and throw away the key!"[30]
In December, he was appointedMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009New Year Honours.[31]
Thomas suffered a bad start to his 2009 season when he broke his pelvis and fractured his nose in a fall; he crashed into a safety barrier having misjudged a turn in the time trial stage of theTirreno–Adriatico inMacerata, Italy. The crash came shortly after an 8 km (5.0 mi) time check showed he was second fastest on the road. Although he was able to return to his team hotel from hospital the same day, a period of 20 days complete rest was required before he would be able to resume training.[32][33]
On 30 October 2009, Thomas set the fastest pursuit time under current rules, at the time, when he completed 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) in 4:15.105 at the first round of the2009–10 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics atManchester Velodrome. Thomas's time was only surpassed by Chris Boardman's 4:11.114, set in 1996 on a bicycle position that had since been banned.[34] On 1 November, on the last day of the World Cup round, Thomas was a member of the team pursuit squad which set the second-fastest time ever on their way to the gold medal, setting a new track record of 3 minutes 54.395 seconds in the process.
Thomas was runner-up toRyan Giggs in the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year award in 2009; the winners were announced on 8 December.[35] He left Barloworld at the end of 2009 to join new British team,Team Sky.[34]
Thomas began 2010 as part of theteam time trial winning team for Sky at theTour of Qatar. After competing in theclassics, he impressed at theCritérium du Dauphiné, finishing in the top ten in each of the opening four stages. As a result of these finishes, he was the leader ingreen jersey competition for stages two, four and six. He finished fifth in the green jersey competition overall, and twenty-first in the general classification.
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Thomas beat teammatePeter Kennaugh to win the 2010British National Road Race Championships. His good form continued into theTour de France, in which he finished fifth in the prologue, a second behind the highest-placed overall contenderLance Armstrong. He then finished second on stage three, a stage that was marred by numerous crashes and splits in thepeloton, which Thomas managed to avoid.[36] This led to him leading theyoung rider classification after stage three. He finished 67th overall in the Tour, and ninth in the young rider classification.
Thomas had been due to travel toDelhi, India, in September to compete in theCommonwealth Games, but pulled out, as did several other cyclists, due to health concerns.Dengue fever was one specific concern cited. Illness was especially a risk for Thomas following the removal of hisspleen in 2005. Following the decision, Thomas said "It's a massive disappointment, I only get to ride for Wales once every four years, but that's the decision I had to make."[37]
Thomas started 2011 with some promising performances in theclassics, finishing sixth in theClassica Sarda and second in theDwars door Vlaanderen[38] before placing tenth in theTour of Flanders[39] Thomas claimed his first professional victory in May, by winning the five-dayBayern Rundfahrt race,[40] after finishing second on stage 3 and fifth on stage 4. On 26 June 2011, Thomas finished second to Bradley Wiggins in theBritish National Road Race Championships.[41]
At theTour de France, Thomas finished sixth on the opening stage to take the white jersey.[42] He retained the jersey the following day, as Sky finished third in the team time trial.[43] Thomas lost the white jersey toRobert Gesink on stage 7, as team leader Bradley Wiggins crashed out of the Tour, and the remaining Sky riders lost time after waiting for him.[44] Thomas won the combativity award on the 212 km (132 mi) stage 12, following an aggressive breakaway 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) into the first Pyrenean stage, that saw him lose control twice on the descent ofLa Hourquette d'Ancizan.[45] He finished 36th on the stage after being caught by thegeneral classification leaders with 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) to go on the final climb of the day, and rose to 25th overall.[45][46] Thomas signed a new three-year contract with Sky after stage 16.[47] He finished 31st overall in the Tour.[48]
Thomas had a successfulTour of Britain, winning the points classification, having been highly placed in the overall standings before a crash.[citation needed] He was part of the Great Britain team for theroad race at theUCI Road World Championships, and helped lead out Mark Cavendish to victory.[49]
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Thomas focused on track cycling for the 2012 season, competing at theSummer Olympics in London.[50] As such, theGiro d'Italia was his road race priority, before turning his focus to the track.[51] In March, Thomas did rideParis–Nice, where he helped Bradley Wiggins take overall victory.[52] On 4 April Thomas was a member of the British team pursuit team that won gold at theUCI Track Cycling World Championships in Melbourne, with a new world record of 3:53.295 seconds.[53] He also teamed up withBen Swift to take the silver medal in the madison.[54] Thomas then returned to the road, winning the prologue of theTour de Romandie.[55]
Thomas finished second behindTaylor Phinney in the opening time trial of the Giro d'Italia.[56] Thomas acted as lead out man to Mark Cavendish in the race, helping him to three stage victories.[57] Thomas also finished second toMarco Pinotti in the final stage time trial in Milan.[58]
Thomas was selected for theteam pursuit team for the Olympics, along withSteven Burke,Ed Clancy and Peter Kennaugh. On 2 August the quartet set a new world record of 3:52.499 in the first heat of the event.[59] The team set the fastest time in the first round, setting up a final with Australia to decide the gold medal winners. In the final, the British team set another world record of 3:51.659, finishing nearly three seconds ahead of the Australians, with Thomas retaining his gold medal in the event.[60]
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Thomas began the 2013 season at theTour Down Under. He won stage 2 after attacking on the Corkscrew climb, and outsprinting three riders that had joined him on the descent.[61] Thomas held the race lead until the penultimate stage, where he cracked on Old Willunga Hill and dropped to fifth overall.[62] However, he fought back on the final stage inAdelaide, taking enough bonus seconds to rise to third place overall, 25 seconds behind Dutch riderTom-Jelte Slagter, and won thesprints classification.[63]
Thomas was given a leadership role in Sky's Classics campaign. His best results were a couple of fourth places inOmloop Het Nieuwsblad andE3 Harelbeke,[64] as he crashed out of contention inMilan–San Remo, theTour of Flanders andParis–Roubaix. After a break, Thomas returned to action at theBayern Rundfahrt, where he finished second overall. He showed excellent climbing form at theCritérium du Dauphiné, helpingChris Froome andRichie Porte secure a 1–2 overall finish, whilst also placing 15th overall himself.
He was selected to ride theTour de France, but crashed heavily on the opening stage. Thomas started the next stage but struggled, finishing second last and after returning to hospital was found to have a fracturedpelvis.[65] Despite his injury, Thomas continued, and managed to finish the Tour in 140th place, helping Froome take overall victory.[66]
Thomas once again started the season at theTour Down Under, this time riding in support ofRichie Porte, and finishing eighth overall.[67] Thomas was again scheduled to support Porte atParis–Nice, but an injury to Froome meant that Porte was switched toTirreno–Adriatico, leaving Thomas to lead the squad in France.[citation needed] Thomas performed strongly, finishing second toGarmin–Sharp'sTom-Jelte Slagter on the fourth stage, to take the leader's yellow jersey, before dropping to second behindCarlos Betancur on the sixth stage. The next day however, Thomas hit a tree on a descent 5 km (3.1 mi) from the finish; although he would complete the stage some seven minutes in arrears, Thomas did not start the final stage.[citation needed] Thomas recovered to take his good form into the Classics season, finishing third inE3 Harelbeke.[68] He led Team Sky at theTour of Flanders and managed an eighth-place finish, 37 seconds behind the winning rider,Fabian Cancellara,[69] having had to chase back after being dropped on the Taaienberg climb. Thomas also secured a hard-fought seventh position inParis–Roubaix, finishing as part of a group twenty seconds behind solo winnerNiki Terpstra having been active in an earlier break withTom Boonen.[70]
In May, Thomas won the overall classification atBayern Rundfahrt for the second time in his career, after winning the individual time trial on Stage 4.[71]
In theTour de France, Thomas acted as a domestique to Sky teammate Richie Porte, following the withdrawal of his compatriot Chris Froome on stage five.[72] Porte soon fell down the overall standings after suffering badly on stage thirteen to Chamrousse. Thomas was then given the freedom to go for stage wins and appeared in a number of breakaways.[citation needed] Thomas was the only Briton to finish the race, placing 22nd overall, his best ever result in the Tour de France.[73]
Thomas representedWales at theCommonwealth Games inGlasgow. He won bronze in the individual time trial behindAlex Dowsett of England andRohan Dennis of Australia. Thomas won gold in the road race after attackingScott Thwaites andJack Bauer on the final lap of the Glasgow city centre circuit, and built up a large enough gap to survive a scare when he had to change a wheel in the closing stages.[74] Thomas rounded off his season with sixth overall at theEneco Tour in August.
In December, Thomas was voted theBBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year.[75]
In February 2015 Thomas won the second stage of theVolta ao Algarve after following an attack byRein Taaramäe (Astana) on the final climb of the day, before going clear and holding off the chasers on the descent to the finish, 19 seconds ahead of the Estonian and 23 seconds ahead of the peloton to take the race lead.[76] He defended the lead by placing third in the time trial on stage 3,[77] and fourth on stage 4, which finished on the summit of the Alto do Malhão and was won by teammate Richie Porte.[78] He finished safely on the final stage to claim overall victory.[79]
Thomas's next race wasParis–Nice. He took second place on the race's queen stage to theCol de la Croix de Chaubouret, again behind Porte.[80] He lost time on the penultimate stage of the race,[81] after crashing on a wet descent, but continued and finished fifth in the overall standings. The following week, he took part in theMilan–San Remo. He attacked on several occasions during the race, most significantly on the descent of theCipressa. Although he led the race solo over the top of thePoggio, he was caught soon afterwards and finished just behind the front group.[82] Five days later, Thomas became the first British rider to win theE3 Harelbeke, attacking from a 3-man breakaway withZdeněk Štybar (Etixx–Quick-Step) andPeter Sagan (Tinkoff–Saxo) in the closing stages and holding on to triumph.[83] Two days later Thomas finished third inGent–Wevelgem behindLuca Paolini (Team Katusha) andNiki Terpstra (Etixx–Quick-Step), despite being blown off his bike and crashing due to a gust of wind in extreme weather conditions.[84]
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In June, Thomas produced one of the best climbing performances of his career[failed verification] at theTour de Suisse by finishing fifth on stage 5,[85] which finished with a climb to theRettenbach glacier to an altitude of 2,669 m (8,757 ft) with the last 12.1 km (7.5 mi) featured an average gradient of 10.7%. Thomas placed fifth in the concluding time trial on stage 9, missing out on overall victory by a gap of five seconds toSimon Špilak (Team Katusha).[86]
At theTour de France Thomas played a support role for Chris Froome, helping him navigate a first week featuring crosswinds, hill top finishes, cobblestones and a team time trial.[87] On the first mountain stage in thePyrenees, Thomas helped set up Froome's winning attack by reducing the peloton on the final climb, theCol de la Pierre St Martin and placed sixth on the stage alongsideAlejandro Valverde of theMovistar Team.[88] This result meant Thomas rose to fifth overall on the general classification. He dropped down to sixth after finishing just over half a minute behindAlberto Contador on stage 14 fromRodez toMende.[89] On stage 16,Warren Barguil (Team Giant–Alpecin) lost control approaching a hairpin bend the descent of theCol de Manse and collided with Thomas, causing him to crash head first into atelegraph pole and fall into a ditch.[90] However Thomas escaped serious injury, and was able to complete the stage and lost just 38 seconds to the leading group.[91] He subsequently moved up to fourth overall after stage 17 toPra-Loup, whenTejay van Garderen pulled out of the race due to illness and Contador lost time due to a crash.[92] However he struggled on stage 19's climb upLa Toussuire, finishing 22 minutes behind stage winnerVincenzo Nibali and sliding down to 15th place in the general classification, 27 minutes and 24 seconds off Froome.[93]
In August he was named in the start list for theVuelta a España.[94]
In February 2016, Thomas retained hisVolta ao Algarve title, after placing fifth on the decisive fifth stage behindAlberto Contador.[95]
In March 2016, Thomas led Team Sky atParis–Nice. On stage 6, Thomas finished second toIlnur Zakarin (Team Katusha) on a mountain top finish atMadone d'Utelle to take the race lead by 15 seconds over Contador.[96] Thomas was able to defend his lead on the final stage, with assistance from teammateSergio Henao, after Contador repeatedly attacked and distanced Thomas on the final climb of theCol d'Èze. Thomas crossed the finish line in Nice 11 seconds after Contador to win the race by 4 seconds.[97]
In May 2016, it was reported that Thomas had signed a two-year contract extension keeping him at Sky until the end of 2018 season.[98] However the following month he clarified that the contract was for one year with the option of a further year.[99]
In July 2016 Thomas was part of the Team Sky squad at theTour de France that aided Chris Froome in securing his third Tour de France overall win. Thomas finished 15th overall for the second year in succession.
Thomas was selected to ride theOlympic Road Race. He crashed on the final descent, around 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) from the finish of the race, when he was near the front of the race in and with a chance of contesting the finale. Thomas re-mounted, and managed to finish in 11th place two and a half minutes adrift of gold medallist Greg Van Avermaet (Belgium).[100] Thomas also received a late entry for theOlympic time trial and finished 9th.[101]
In January 2017, Team Sky announced that Thomas would share leadership withMikel Landa at theGiro d'Italia.[102]
In March 2017, Thomas led Sky atTirreno–Adriatico. However, their opening team time trial was marred by a crash suffered byGianni Moscon, when his front wheel disintegrated at high speed. Moscon fell to the tarmac, suffering abrasions, but was able to remount.[103] After the stage,[104] Thomas stated to the media that two other team members suffered broken wheels during the stage; Team Sky ultimately finished 1 minute, 41 seconds down on the time of the BMC Racing Team. On stage 2, with 5.5 kilometres (3.4 miles) remaining, Thomas andQuick-Step Floors'sBob Jungels attacked on the 16% steep climb towards Pomarance, pullingTim Wellens (Lotto–Soudal), and BMC Racing Team duoTejay van Garderen andDamiano Caruso – in the leader's blue jersey – away with them. With Thomas pulling clear of Jungels,Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team) countered to the group of pursuers; Thomas was able to stay clear until the end, winning the stage by nine seconds fromTom Dumoulin ofTeam Sunweb.[105] Thomas finished second on stage 4 toMonte Terminillo, 18 seconds behindNairo Quintana of (Movistar Team).[106] He finished fifth overall, 58 seconds behind Quintana.
In April 2017, Thomas became the first British rider to win theTour of the Alps (formerly known as the Giro del Trentino).[107] Thomas won the third stage of the race, taking the leader's fuchsia jersey as a result, and ultimately won by seven seconds ahead ofThibaut Pinot (FDJ). Thomas began theGiro d'Italia strongly, finishing third on stage 4 toMount Etna to sit second overall for the rest of the first week. However, on stage 9, as the peloton approached the final climb of the day toBlockhaus,Wilco Kelderman ofTeam Sunweb collided with a police motorcycle which had been parked at the side of the road. This caused him to swerve to his right into the Sky riders, who were in a line in the peloton, and resulted in Thomas and the majority of his teammates being brought down. Thomas reported his shoulder "popped out" during the crash, but he remounted to complete the stage, dropping to 17th in the standings, five minutes and 14 seconds behind Nairo Quintana.[108] After a rest day, Thomas recovered to finish second toTom Dumoulin on stage 10, a 39.8 km (24.7 mi) individual time trial, to move back up to 11th overall.[109] However, after losing further time on the next two stages, Thomas withdrew from the race with a worsening knee injury.[110]
At theTour de France, Thomas won the opening stage, a 13.7 km (8.5 mi) individual time trial, making him the first Welsh rider to wear the yellow jersey in the event. He held the yellow jersey until Stage 5, when he dropped to second overall behind teammateChris Froome after finishing tenth onLa Planche des Belles Filles. Thomas crashed out of the race on a descent on Stage 9 whilst placed second overall and suffered a broken collarbone.[111]
Thomas began his 2018 season in February at theVolta ao Algarve, where he won the 20.3-kilometre (12.6-mile) individual time trial on Stage 3 to increase his overall race lead.[112] However, he missed out on overall victory on the final stage when a 31-man breakaway went clear in the opening kilometres including his teammate, the second placed riderMichał Kwiatkowski. Kwiatkowski held on to win the stage on theMalhão to take overall victory by 1 minute 31 seconds over Thomas.[113] In March, Thomas again suffered misfortune whilst leadingTirreno–Adriatico when on Stage 4 he suffered a mechanical issue 1.5 kilometres (0.93 miles) from the summit of the final climb to Sarnano–Sassotetto that saw him lose 34 seconds and the overall leader's blue jersey.[114] He eventually finished third overall, again behind teammate Kwiatkowski andDamiano Caruso ofBMC Racing Team.[115] In April, Thomas returned toParis–Roubaix, but abandoned after crashing in the opening cobbled sector of the race.[116]
In June, Thomas led Team Sky at the2018 Critérium du Dauphiné in the absence ofChris Froome, who had won theGiro d'Italia a week earlier.[117] Thomas crashed during the opening prologue and finished over 20 seconds down on Kwiatkowski, who won the stage.[118] Team Sky won the team time trial on Stage 3 with Thomas rising to fourth overall.[119] Thomas took the race lead after finishing second on Stage 5 toValmorel[120] and increased his lead overAdam Yates to 1 minute 29 seconds on the following stage.[121] Despite having to chase back twice after suffering two punctures on the final stage, Thomas held on to take overall victory ahead of Yates andRomain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale).[122]
In July, Thomas entered theTour de France as adomestique riding in support of Team Sky's leader Froome,[123] who was going for a record-equalling fifth Tour de France victory, even as Thomas was one of the top contenders who could compete for the overall victory. A crash for Froome on stage 1 saw him lose time to Thomas and Team Sky finished second behind BMC Racing Team in the second stageteam time trial.[124] After avoiding the crashes and mechanical problems suffered by many of the other overall contenders in the first week, Thomas sat second overall when the race entered theAlps on Stage 10, just 43 seconds behind the leaderGreg Van Avermaet, whilst Froome was in eighth place.[125] and speculation over team leadership began, though Thomas himself diplomatically fielded any questions regarding leadership:"I think it's early to be talking about that", Thomas said about any disputes over leadership between him and Froome."Maybe if I'm still right there after Alpe d'Huez [on stage 12], it's a bit different than. But we haven't even done a proper climb yet. I'm certainly not getting carried away".[126]
On Stage 11, with a steep finishing climb toLa Rosière, Thomas attacked from the group of favourites, including Froome, 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) from the finish and caught up withTom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb), who had attacked on the stage's penultimate climb. Thomas attacked again in the final kilometre to distance Dumoulin, and he passed lone breakaway riderMikel Nieve (Mitchelton–Scott) in sight of the finish line to take the stage win and the race leader's yellow jersey.[127] The following day, Thomas won Stage 12 in a sprint finish atAlpe d'Huez ahead of Dumoulin and Froome, who arose as the likely contenders for overall victory in Paris.[128] By doing so he became the first rider to win a Tour de France stage at Alpe d'Huez in the yellow jersey and the first British winner at Alpe d'Huez in the Tour de France.
On Stage 17, the first of the three Pyrenean stages, a 65-kilometre (40-mile) stage to the summit of theCol de Portet, Thomas extended his lead by placing third behind stage winnerNairo Quintana ofMovistar Team. Froome's challenge faded on the approach to the summit and he dropped to third position in the general classification, 2:31 behind Thomas. Dumoulin moved into second place, 1:59 off the lead.[129] On the mountainous stage nineteen fromLourdes toLaruns,Primož Roglič ofLottoNL–Jumbo attacked on the final climb, theCol d'Aubisque, and soloed to the finish nineteen seconds ahead of the chasing group of overall favourites. Thomas was able to consolidate his position in the yellow jersey by picking up six bonus seconds in the sprint thereby extending his lead over Dumoulin to 2 minutes, 5 seconds.[130] The penultimate stage was a 31 km (19.3 mi) time trial, Dumoulin won the stage, one second ahead of Froome. Thomas survived a scare when his back wheel locked, but completed the time trial successfully, finishing fourteen seconds behind Dumoulin, taking a lead of 1 minute, 51 seconds into the final stage.[131] He held the lead all the way to Paris to become only the third ever British, first British-born and first Welsh cyclist to win the Tour de France.[132][133][134]
On 9 August, Thomas attended a homecoming event organised in Cardiff in his honour, appearing in front of 3,000 people outside theSenedd inCardiff Bay where he was greeted byFirst Minister of WalesCarwyn Jones before riding alongside a group of young riders toCardiff Castle, where a crowd of 8,000 heard him speak.[135] In September 2018 the Wales National Velodrome inNewport was officially renamed theGeraint Thomas National Velodrome: Thomas attended the renaming ceremony after the first stage of the2018 Tour of Britain finished in the city.[136]
In December, Thomas was named BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year for the second time,[137] before he went on to win the mainBBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.[138] He was appointedOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the2019 New Year Honours for services to cycling.[139]
After celebrating his 2018 Tour victory, Thomas was overweight at the start of the 2019 season.[140] His only result of note before the Tour was a third-place overall finish at theTour de Romandie in early May.[141]
In June, Thomas abandoned theTour de Suisse following a crash, and required recovery time, which put his ability to perform at the Tour in doubt.[142] His Ineos teammateEgan Bernal went on to win the race. Thomas and Bernal were named as joint team leaders for the2019 Tour de France, afterChris Froome was ruled out of the race after suffering a serious crash at theCritérium du Dauphiné[143] although some in the media expected an internal battle between the two.[144][145] Bernal had been planned to lead his team's Giro squad, but missed the race after he broke his collarbone.[146] His major wins of the season up to the Tour were theParis–Nice stage race before his injury and the Tour de Suisse on his return.
On Stage 2, Ineos placed second behindTeam Jumbo–Visma in a team time trial. Team Ineos.[147] On Stage 3,Deceuninck–Quick-Step riderJulian Alaphilippe launched a soloattack with 16 km (9.9 mi) to go over the final climb, the third-category Côte de Mutigny, catching and passing the remainder of the breakaway to win the stage and take the yellow jersey.[148] The tenth stage was on relatively flat terrain.[149] With 30 km (18.6 mi) remaining, splits occurred in the peloton as Team Ineos and others took to the front and broke the field apart in strongcrosswinds. This effort proved decisive, as several overall contenders who were caught behind, includingThibaut Pinot,Richie Porte,Rigoberto Urán,Jakob Fuglsang andMikel Landa, lost time on the front group. Thomas, Bernal, Alaphilippe maintained their position at the front of the race, amongst a reduced bunch.[150] By the first rest day, the general classification was led by Alaphilippe, who had a lead of 1' 12" on Thomas, behind whom was Bernal in third place, just 4" from Thomas.[151]
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On Stage 13, an individual time trial toPau, Alaphilippe took the victory to extend his lead, with a time of 35' 00" across the 27.2 km (17 mi) course, achieving a victory on a day where he was expected to lose time to riders such as Thomas,[152] who ended up in second place, fourteen seconds down.[153] On stage 14, the last of the breakaway riders were caught by the leading group of general classification contenders at 10 km (6.2 mi) before the finish atop thehors catégorieCol du Tourmalet. With 1 km (0.62 mi) remaining, Thomas got detached from the lead group containing Alaphilippe,Emanuel Buchmann, Pinot, Bernal, Landa andSteven Kruijswijk. Pinot attacked in the final 250 m (270 yd) and held his lead to the finish line at the summit.[154] On the final stage in the Pyrenees, Simon Yates took his second stage win of the race from a reduced breakaway of six at the summit of the 11.8 km (7.3 mi) first-category climb to Prat d'Albis. Pinot attacked the group of general classification contenders with 6 km (3.7 mi) remaining to finish in second place with Landa, 33 seconds behind, progressing to fourth overall. The duo of Bernal and Buchmann came in 33' down, followed by the last few breakaway riders, and then the group of favourites, led by Thomas, who finished 1' 22" behind Yates.[155] The following day was the Tour's second rest day.[156] By this point, overall race leader Alaphilippe was exceeding expectations, with a 1' 35" lead over Thomas.[157][158] Kruijswijk was third at 1' 47", followed by Pinot, Bernal and Buchmann respectively.
Stage 18, the first in the Alps, was led by breakaway riders throughout the stage's climbs, which included the first-categoryCol de Vars and thehors catégorieCol d'Izoard andCol du Galibier. With 2 km (1.2 mi) remaining of the Galibier, Bernal attacked from within the group of general classification contenders containing Alaphilippe and Thomas, allowing Bernal to recover half a minute on his rivals by the finish and move up to second overall.[159] Around 40 km (25 mi) into stage 19, Pinot, who had been placed fifth in the general classification, abandoned the race with a leg muscle injury.[160] At the head of the race in the closing kilometres of the planned second to last climb, thehors catégorie Col de l'Iseran, Bernal attacked from the group of overall contenders, catching and passing final breakaway riders by the summit. Alaphilippe was dropped following Bernal's attack, and was two minutes behind at the summit. During the descent, the race was neutralised when a hailstorm caused ice and landslides to block the route to the final climb toTignes,[161][162] particularly a mudslide at the foot of the descent beforeVal-d'Isère. Times for the general classification were taken at the summit of the Iseran, with the stage victory and mostcombative rider of the day not awarded.[163] As a result, Bernal, who had been in second place overall,[159] moved ahead of Alaphilippe and took the yellow jersey.[161] The stage was shortened from 126.5 km (79 mi) to 89 km (55 mi).[156][164] The inclement weather also caused the penultimate stage to be reduced in length beforehand,[165] from 130 km (81 mi) to 59.5 km (37 mi),[156][166] bypassing the first-categoryCormet de Roselend and the second-category Côte de Longefoy, with the only climb being thehors catégorie-rated one to Val Thorens at the finish.[165] A group of 29 riders established a two-and-a-half minute lead over the peloton, before being vastly reduced to six on the early slopes of the Val Thorens climb. With 12 km (7.5 mi) remaining, Nibali attacked from this group and soloed to victory, ten seconds ahead of chasers Landa and Alejandro Valverde. Close behind, Bernal and Thomas led the other general classification contenders Urán, Buchmann and Kruijswijk. Alaphilippe was dropped again, losing three minutes to Bernal and dropping from second overall to fifth.[167] Thomas therefore finished the race in second place overall, 1' 11" down on Bernal.
After a year disrupted by theCOVID-19 pandemic, Thomas did not ride theTour de France, after a mutual decision with his team, instead focusing his efforts on theGiro d'Italia.[168] He entered September'sTirreno–Adriatico, ahead of the Giro d'Italia the following month.[169] He finished second to compatriotSimon Yates on the fifth stage, which finished at theSassotetto [it] ski resort; he ultimately finished the race in second overall, behind Yates.[170][171] In between Tirreno–Adriatico and the Giro d'Italia, Thomas made his first appearance in thetime trial at theUCI Road World Championships, finishing 4th.[172] A crash on the third stage of the Giro d'Italia fractured his pelvis,[173] and ended his season. The race was eventually won by his domestique, compatriot and teammateTao Geoghegan Hart.[174]
In theVolta a Catalunya, Thomas finished third overall, behindIneos Grenadiers teammatesAdam Yates andRichie Porte.[175] He then won theTour de Romandie on the final day, moving ahead ofMichael Woods,[176] before finishing third at the2021 Critérium du Dauphiné,[177] winning the fifth stage.[178] During theTour de France he, along with many other riders, ran into crashes and bad luck during the first week.[179] He did finish the Tour, finishing 41st overall while riding in support ofRichard Carapaz,[180] who took the final podium place.[181]
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At theTour de Suisse, he was part of an Ineos Grenadiers team that includedAdam Yates,Daniel Martínez andTom Pidcock.[182] After gaining bonus seconds on the third stage,[183] he trailed race leaderAleksandr Vlasov by seven seconds after the fifth stage.[184] Following Vlasov's positiveCOVID-19 test ahead of the sixth stage, Thomas moved up to second overall, one second behindJakob Fuglsang.[185] Both were overhauled bySergio Higuita on the seventh stage, with Higuita leading Thomas by two seconds going into the finalindividual time trial stage in Liechtenstein.[186] Thomas finished second on the day toRemco Evenepoel, with Higuita finishing more than a minute down, which gave Thomas the overall victory.[187]
Thomas rode theTour de France for the twelfth time, with Yates, Martínez and Pidcock also part of the Ineos Grenadiers octet. Thomas proved himself to be the strongest rider in the race, except forJonas Vingegaard andTadej Pogačar, and by the Pyrenees was the only rider left within striking distance of the two. Between theAlps and thePyrenees there was rumours that Pogačar sought an alliance with Thomas, to which Thomas refuted the suggestion of such.[188] Into the third week he was finally distanced by Vingegaard and Pogačar, while being well ahead of the remainder of the peloton in the Pyrenees and he rode well enough to put himself in position to finish on a Tour podium for the third time. His strong performance during the finalindividual time trial made him the only rider to finish within ten minutes of Vingegaard and Pogačar on the road, and secured his podium position.[189]
At theCommonwealth Games, he earned Wales a bronze medal in theroad time trial, despite an early crash costing him almost half a minute.[190]
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Thomas was one of the co-leaders for theIneos Grenadiers at theGiro d'Italia, along withTao Geoghegan Hart.[191] Having started the race with a ninth-place finish on the openingindividual time trial, Thomas remained in the top-ten placings in the general classification for the entire race. He moved up to second overall by the first rest day (occurring after the ninth stage), behind onlyRemco Evenepoel.[192] Thomas assumed the race lead following a positiveCOVID-19 test for Evenepoel,[193] a lead he held for four stages, beforeBruno Armirail assumed the pink jersey after the peloton lost more than twenty minutes on stage fourteen.[194] Thomas retook the race lead two stages later after Armirail cracked on the final climb toMonte Bondone.[195] Heading into the third individual time trial of the race, held on the penultimate day, Thomas held a 26-second lead overPrimož Roglič, withJoão Almeida also within a minute.[196] Roglič lost time with a mechanical issue early on the climb of Monte Lussari, but ultimately overhauled the advantage held by Thomas, with Roglič prevailing by 40 seconds on the stage, giving him the race lead by 14 seconds – a margin he would hold onto through the final stage inRome.[197][198]
In 2024, Thomas again targeted theGiro d'Italia, starting the race as the leader for theIneos Grenadiers.[199] Thomas finished the race third overall, 10 minutes behind race winnerTadej Pogačar. Thomas stated on his podcast that he is "95% certain" he will retire in 2025, when his current contract ends.[200] This was later confirmed in February 2025.[201][202]
Welsh-speaking fans of Geraint had begun singing a version ofTitw Tomos Las[203] byHogia'r Wyddfa, a popular Welsh-language quintet from the 1960s and 1970s. The song, which is about theblue tit bird (Titw Tomos Las in Welsh) emphasised Geraint's surname, spelt Tomos in Welsh.BBC Radio Cymru promptly recorded an updated version of the song with two members of Hogia'r Wyddfa as well as contemporary group,Siddi, and brass band, Band Pres Llareggub, as well as local children. The song was recorded for Aled Hughes's morning programme on the national Welsh language station and shared on social media.[204][205]
Welsh singer-songwriterMax Boyce wrote a poem in honour of Thomas's Tour de France victory, "The Boy Who Climbed a Mountain", which Boyce performed at Thomas's Cardiff homecoming event in August 2018.[135][206]
In December 2019, an hour-long documentary titledGeraint Thomas:The Road Will Decide was broadcast on theBBC. It followed Thomas' 2018 Tour de France win as well as the feelings of his wife, Sara.[207][208]
Thomas met his wife, Sara Elen Thomas, through a mutual friend.[209] The couple reside inMonaco, and were married in St Tewdrics House, Chepstow,[210] Wales, a Grade II listed Italianate villa that they purchased in October 2015. Geraint and Sara still own the property to this day and it is run as a wedding venue.[211] The couple have a son, whose birth was announced on 4 October 2019.[212] Thomas is a fan ofArsenal F.C.[213]
Thomas published his autobiography,According to G, in October 2025.[214]
Source:[215]
OverallFlèche du Sud
Points classification
Young rider classification
Road race after Stages 3–6 OverallBayern Rundfahrt
Points classification,Tour of Britain after Stages 1–7
Combativity award Stage 12 Sprints classification
Team time trial,UCI World Championships
Road race
Time trial OverallBayern Rundfahrt OverallVolta ao Algarve Points classification OverallParis–Nice OverallVolta ao Algarve
OverallTour of the Alps after Stages 1–4 after Stage 1Team time trial,UCI World ChampionshipsTime trial, National Championships OverallTour de France
OverallCritérium du Dauphiné OverallTour de Romandie OverallTour de SuisseTime trial
after Stages 10–13 & 16–19Combativity award Stage 9| Grand Tour general classification results | |||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Tour | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giro d'Italia | — | 118 | — | — | — | 80 | — | — | — | — | DNF | — | — | DNF | — | — | 2 | 3 | — |
| Tour de France | 140 | — | — | 64 | 31 | — | 140 | 22 | 15 | 15 | DNF | 1 | 2 | — | 41 | 3 | — | 42 | 58 |
 / Vuelta a España | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 31 | — | — |
| Major stage race general classification results | |||||||||||||||||||
| Major stage race | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| Paris–Nice | — | — | — | 86 | 83 | DNF | — | DNF | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
 / Tirreno–Adriatico | — | — | DNF | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 3 | DNF | 2 | 24 | — | — | — | — |
 Volta a Catalunya | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | DNF | 34 | — | — | NH | 3 | — | 45 | 27 | 45 |
| Tour of the Basque Country | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 40 | — | 39 | — | — | — | |
| Tour de Romandie | — | — | — | — | 88 | DNF | — | — | 87 | 51 | — | 33 | 3 | 1 | 19 | — | — | 28 | |
| Critérium du Dauphiné | — | — | — | 21 | DNF | — | 15 | 46 | — | — | — | 1 | — | 37 | 3 | — | — | — | — |
| Tour de Suisse | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 17 | — | — | DNF | NH | — | 1 | — | — | DNF |
| Monument | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milan–San Remo | — | — | 60 | — | DNF | DNF | 31 | 169 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 110 |
| Tour of Flanders | — | 33 | 10 | — | 41 | 8 | 14 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Paris–Roubaix | — | 64 | OTL | — | 79 | 7 | DNF | — | — | DNF | — | NH | — | — | — | — | — |
| Liège–Bastogne–Liège | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 56 | — | — | — | 43 | — | — | 93 |
| Giro di Lombardia | Did not contest during his career | ||||||||||||||||
| Classic | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| Omloop Het Nieuwsblad | — | — | — | — | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Strade Bianche | DNF | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | — | — | — | — | 71 | — |
| Dwars door Vlaanderen | — | 32 | 2 | — | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — | NH | — | — | — | — | — |
| E3 Saxo Bank Classic[a] | — | 50 | — | — | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Gent–Wevelgem | — | DNF | 124 | — | DNF | 112 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Event | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Olympic Games | Time trial | Not held | — | Not held | — | Not held | 9 | Not held | 12 | Not held | ||||||||||
| Road race | — | — | 11 | DNF | ||||||||||||||||
 World Championships | Time trial | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | — | — | 10 |
| Road race | — | — | — | DNF | DNF | — | 81 | — | DNF | DNF | — | DNF | — | — | DNF | — | — | — | — | |
| National Championships | Time trial | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Road race | 12 | 3 | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | — | — | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
| NH | Not held |
| OTL | Out of time limit |
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giro d'Italia | DNE | 118 | DNE | DNE | DNE | 80 | DNE | DNE | DNE | DNE | DNS-13 | DNE | DNE | DNS-4 | DNE | DNE | 2 | 3 | DNE |
| Points classification | — | 82 | — | — | — | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 25 | — |
| Mountains classification | — | NR | — | — | — | NR | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 11 | — |
| Young rider classification | — | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tour de France | 140 | DNE | DNE | 64 | 31 | DNE | 140 | 22 | 15 | 15 | DNF-9 | 1 | 2 | DNE | 41 | 3 | DNE | 42 | 58 |
| Stages won | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Points classification | 67 | — | — | 19 | 18 | — | 126 | 53 | 48 | 79 | — | 8 | 12 | — | 107 | 12 | — | 108 | 88 |
| Mountains classification | NR | — | — | NR | 19 | — | NR | 34 | 24 | 63 | — | 4 | 13 | — | NR | 10 | — | NR | NR |
| Young rider classification | 22 | — | — | 9 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Vuelta a España | DNE | DNE | DNE | DNE | DNE | DNE | DNE | DNE | 69 | DNE | DNE | DNE | DNE | DNE | DNE | DNE | 31 | DNE | |
| Points classification | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 78 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 73 | — | |
| Mountains classification | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | NR | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 38 | — |
| 1 | Winner |
| 2–3 | Top three-finish |
| 4–10 | Top ten-finish |
| 11– | Other finish |
| DNE | Did not enter |
| DNF-x | Did not finish (retired on stage x) |
| DNS-x | Did not start (not started on stage x) |
| HD-x | Finished outside time limit (occurred on stage x) |
| DSQ | Disqualified |
| N/A | Race/classification not held |
| NR | Not ranked in this classification |
Scratch,UCI World Junior Championships
Points race,UEC European Junior Championships Scratch Team pursuit
Team pursuit Scratch
Team pursuit,UCI World ChampionshipsPoints race,Commonwealth GamesTeam pursuit,UCI World Championships
Team pursuit,Olympic GamesTeam pursuit,UCI World ChampionshipsTeam pursuit,UEC European ChampionshipsTeam pursuit,Olympic GamesTeam pursuitMadison (withBen Swift)| Discipline | Record | Date | Event | Velodrome | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team pursuit | 3:56.322 | 27 March 2008 | World Championships | Manchester | [216] |
| 3:55.202 | 17 August 2008 | Olympic Games | Laoshan (Beijing) | [28] | |
| 3:53.314 | 18 August 2008 | [28] | |||
| 3:53.295 | 4 April 2012 | World Championships | Hisense Arena (Melbourne) | [53] | |
| 3:52.499 | 2 August 2012 | Olympic Games | Lee Valley (London) | [59] | |
| 3:51.659 | 3 August 2012 | [60] |
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