Geraint Thomas: First Welshman to finish Tour de France in 40 Years
Geraint Thomas will wake up this morning exhausted and aching from head to toe, but he can feel proud after becoming the first Welshman in 40 years to finish the gruelling Tour de France.
Thomas finished 140th, nearly four hours behind winner Alberto Contador and was highly tipped to pull out of the race when the Tour hit the punishing mountain stages. The Cardiff man, who is now the youngest Briton ever to finish the Tour, said that was never in his thinking. “I was always going to go as far as I could.”
How does Thomas feel about the drugs scandal that rocked this year’s Tour?
“It’s a shame my effort has been overlooked by the drugs scandal, but if it is for the Tour de France coming clean then it will not be in vain.
“The good thing about coming next to last is that no one even suspects you’re on drugs!
“My legs are in agony, every part of me is aching and I desperately want my bed, yet nothing in the world would tempt me to cheat.
“If I can’t win it clean on my own hard work and ability, I’d rather not win Le Tour at all.”
A refreshing answer and one which will serve the young Welshman well in future bike races.
What next for Thomas?
“Now I want to go out, have a few beers and catch up with some friends, but I will definitely be resting for a few weeks. Going to bed is the main aim!”
I’ll have a beer for you too Geraint! Congratulations and good luck for the future!
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
July 30th, 2007 at 10:28 am
Congrats on getting a Welsh cyclist through the Tour.
Hope for a better Tour de France next year without all the drug crap
July 30th, 2007 at 11:38 am
That’s awesome! Congrats to Geraint!
July 30th, 2007 at 11:58 am
What an inspiring story! I really enjoyed that.
July 31st, 2007 at 2:46 am
In past, the french racing cyclists drank some red wine or some beer, during the Tour de France. It’s truth. It’s more natural than drugs. I live in Brittany(Llydaw), there are many races and great champions like L. Bobet, J. Robic and B.Hinault. Sorry, my english is awful!
Congrats to Geraint!
July 31st, 2007 at 4:47 am
ACelticFrog: Thanks for the comment! This is one of my favorite Tour de France prints showing Le Tour in the old days with the riders stopped under a tree to take a break and have a drink
classic…