“Bike racing is all I have ever known,” says Geraint Thomas of the 19-year professional career that will end this summer with one final Tour de France and a farewell appearance in the Tour of Britain.
While many of his peers are relishing a Tadej Pogacar-free Giro d’Italia that starts on Friday, the 2018 Tour winner has opted against three weeks in Italy, favouring one last ride in July’s French hothouse.
“A lot of it is in the head. Obviously it’s physical as well, but I still want to do it. I still want to perform well and be there in the final week. It’s all about going in, in the best shape you can, and once you’re in it, about your mental approach and staying strong and positive.
“It’s a different mindset this year as I’m not going for the general classification. It’s been a little too relaxed maybe, so it’s time to knuckle down, diet and everything.”
Thomas has seen generations of riders morph physically as performance data, technology and nutrition have increasingly taken hold. “Bike riders have always been skinny,” he says. “It’s more the whole package. Everyone is just stronger. Everyone is training better.
“Losing those few kilos makes a big difference these days. They always have done, but even more so now the whole peloton is getting better. Before, it was just a couple of people in every team going to altitude or whatever, but now it’s whole teams that are on it.”
Thomas will leave Ineos Grenadiers in a better place than 12 months ago, when internal wrangles and uncertainty over the future of Tom Pidcock – now with the Q36.5 team – led to tension.
Last July, Thomas had bemoaned a lack of “clarity” and likened the Ineos Grenadiers team management to a “coalition government”. But he is quick to dismiss any suggestion that the Pidcock polemics stalled the team’s progress.
“The narrative around the team is a big thing. I stay in my own little bubble, most of the time, and I’ve still been able to be successful. Now that there are more positive stories about the way the team is racing, that also helps. When people are writing negative stuff all the time it’s easy to believe it.”
There are rumours Thomas will move into management with Ineos Grenadiers soon after he retires. “It’s been mentioned, but it’s something I haven’t spoken properly about. I love cycling and the team, so would love to stay involved in some capacity.
“I’ve been used to targeting races and going after something and really dedicating myself, so if I just go home to Cardiff, take Max to school and do nothing the rest of the day, I’ll go insane after a week.
“I think I’ve got a lot to offer on performance and going after bike races. There’d be a lot to learn as well, which is also exciting. It all depends on the role I’d end up doing, but that’s the type of challenge I’d be looking for.”
His final race, the Tour of Britain, due to end in Cardiff on 7 September, will take him back to where it all began. “It’ll be amazing,” he says. “It will be full circle: finishing my career on the roads in Cardiff. There will be lots of friends and family there. I can’t think of a better way to finish.”
