Teams & Riders Geraint Thomas

[Escarabajo]

I imagine he would go on a bar Tour after this race to make the proper retirement.

 

[Netserk]

just dislike or you think he wouldn't be a good DS?

He'd be the opposite of their approach this year.

 

[Brullnux]

just dislike or you think he wouldn't be a good DS?

Raised on the domination of the mid-2010s, I think his tactics are both boring to watch and unsuitable to Ineos' squad/modern cycling more generally. He hasn't really shown much sign of updating his approach, either. So I suppose I'd dislike his approach as a DS but I also think it'd be ineffective.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Raised on the domination of the mid-2010s, I think his tactics are both boring to watch and unsuitable to Ineos' squad/modern cycling more generally. He hasn't really shown much sign of updating his approach, either. So I suppose I'd dislike his approach as a DS but I also think it'd be ineffective.

Intrigued as to the grounds you have for thinking that Thomas was dictating his team's tactics, or of what tactics he has been accountable since then.

 

[Netserk]

There is this show on Netflix ...

What I found the most interesting, if accurate, was that Geraint Thomas couldnt fathom that Pidcock wants to win the Alpe d'Huez stage and it beeing presented as a "big risk" that Pidcock goes into the break cause it meant G would have "one less guy around him". It really does explain alot about how that team rides if you think about it, allthough Im almost thinking that line of conservatism is way too absurd even for them, then again those were more or less direct quotes.
In contrast I loved Pidcocks attitude towards it: "Well we said we wanted to bring the race to Jumbo didnt we?" "Yes." "Well we arent really doing that at all are we?"

What I also found interesting is how the big raid on Pogacar wasn't really planned or rather not really ironed out. Theres a short segment where a Jumbo domestique goes to the car and says "Primoz asked when are we going to attack Pogacar" (this is during the Granon stage mind you). And Niermann basically is like: "Yea well just go for it whenever you feel like it". Thought there would be a deeper level of planning going into what they did that day. Then again maybe it did its just how the show presents it and that seemed quite laissez-faire.

These short little inside segments were what made the show somewhat enjoyable for me by the way; It just needed about 10x the amount of them

 

[Red Rick]

There is this show on Netflix ...

Missed opportunity for Roglic to oblige the orders by never attacking.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Hopefully, he will never return in the Ineos car.

All 7 men on deck for Carlos Rodriguez, we need to protect his 6th. Ride like you lead the Tour like a bunch of lunatics and use the whole squad to stay out of trouble! Can't risk going for a stage.

 

[Brullnux]

Intrigued as to the grounds you have for thinking that Thomas was dictating his team's tactics, or of what tactics he has been accountable since then.

Thomas wasn't dictating his team's tactics, but there is a tendency in all sports (and all fields of life!) for people to replicate the strategies that they were taught.

You can see his outlook in his podcast/Instagram posts when he discusses race strategies, and I think it was also really visible in the last couple of Giros he rode. He often talks about how he's almost incredulous at long range attacks or attempts to turn races on their head etc.

 

[awavey]

I thought there had been talk he was going to become somekind of Ineos role as kind of that mentor/coach for the young talented Brit riders, who fair dues Ineos do seem to keep picking up, as someone who has been there done that and theyll respect maybe more than random coach theyve never met.

not sure. I dont see him as a DS though, I dont think he's cut out for that role.

I just find it funny they did the team reveal, but the pics are the old kit, not the one with Total Energies, so its like heres your team who wont look like this come the race we are trying to promote with this promotion. doh

 

[RedheadDane]

Here's a reminder of just how old he is:

 

[SHAD0W93]

Here's a reminder of just how old he is:

Outlasted everyone from 2008 Team GB bar Ben Swift.

 

[Squire]

Here's a reminder of just how old he is:

And Seixas hadn't learnt to say 'mom' yet.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

And Seixas hadn't learnt to say 'mom' yet.

Plenty of today’s Pro cyclists hadn‘t learned to say mom yet back then since it‘s an english word and they didn‘t learn English yet

 

[Squire]

For some extra context on his longevity at the highest level:

Thomas is the last remaining rider on top level from the 2007 Tour. Technically also from the 2008 Tour, although if you count Israel-Premier Tech as top level because they have auto-wildcards, Chris Froome should also be mentioned here.

Thomas didn't do the 2009 Tour, and the last remaining active WT rider from that race is Rui Costa. Some more guys from that race retired last year (Gesink, Uran, Cavendish (who also did the 2007 Tour)).

Thomas did do the 2010 Tour, and after Fuglsang's retirement post-Giro 2025, him and Costa are the remaining WT riders from that race. Arashiro is still active as a ProTeam rider, and I'll give an honourable mention to Taaramäe who was in the WT until last year, is now Conti and just won another national title.

From the 2011 Tour, Thomas and Costa are joined by Mollema, Swift and Poels.

There doesn't seem to have been a lot of generation change in those years, as the only new name added for the 2012 which I haven't alread mentioned (Thomas didn't do that one though, he did the Giro) is Kruijswijk.

And then suddenly a whole bunch of familiar names show up in 2013. That year saw the debut of Kristoff, Quintana, Izagirre, Castroviejo, Cimolai, Molard, Kwiatkowski, Van Poppel, Degenkolb, Trentin (PRT), Lutsenko (PRT), Clarke (PRT) and Bardet (very recently retired).

But none of the names mentioned have been anywhere close to being able to achieve something akin to a GT podium as recently as 2024 like Thomas did. The only rider still near the peak of his powers would be Van Poppel, but he is also significantly younger.

Of course in terms of still active non-WT riders, Geraint Thomas doesn't hold a candle to Francisco Mancebo (Tour debut in 1999) and Oscar Sevilla (Tour debut in 2002 but GT debut in 1998). Although if we talk about riders who have done UCI road races very recently (in 2024), there is always Raúl Alcalá who debuted in the Tour in 1986. But those guys are all up to several decades removed from the ability to contest GTs of course.

 

[Wyndbrook]

Maybe a special mention or award from Mr Prudhomme along the way, let's hope.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

For some extra context on his longevity at the highest level:

Thomas is the last remaining rider on top level from the 2007 Tour. Technically also from the 2008 Tour, although if you count Israel-Premier Tech as top level because they have auto-wildcards, Chris Froome should also be mentioned here.

Thomas didn't do the 2009 Tour, and the last remaining active WT rider from that race is Rui Costa. Some more guys from that race retired last year (Gesink, Uran, Cavendish (who also did the 2007 Tour)).

Thomas did do the 2010 Tour, and after Fuglsang's retirement post-Giro 2025, him and Costa are the remaining WT riders from that race. Arashiro is still active as a ProTeam rider, and I'll give an honourable mention to Taaramäe who was in the WT until last year, is now Conti and just won another national title.

From the 2011 Tour, Thomas and Costa are joined by Mollema, Swift and Poels.

There doesn't seem to have been a lot of generation change in those years, as the only new name added for the 2012 which I haven't alread mentioned (Thomas didn't do that one though, he did the Giro) is Kruijswijk.

And then suddenly a whole bunch of familiar names show up in 2013. That year saw the debut of Kristoff, Quintana, Izagirre, Castroviejo, Cimolai, Molard, Kwiatkowski, Van Poppel, Degenkolb, Trentin (PRT), Lutsenko (PRT), Clarke (PRT) and Bardet (very recently retired).

But none of the names mentioned have been anywhere close to being able to achieve something akin to a GT podium as recently as 2024 like Thomas did. The only rider still near the peak of his powers would be Van Poppel, but he is also significantly younger.

Of course in terms of still active non-WT riders, Geraint Thomas doesn't hold a candle to Francisco Mancebo (Tour debut in 1999) and Oscar Sevilla (Tour debut in 2002 but GT debut in 1998). Although if we talk about riders who have done UCI road races very recently (in 2024), there is always Raúl Alcalá who debuted in the Tour in 1986. But those guys are all up to several decades removed from the ability to contest GTs of course.

And, as I mentioned in the Movistar thread, The youngest rider in the TdF this year, Romeo, was still a month short of his 4th birthday when GT finished his first Tour (in second to last place)

Th guy who deprived him of the Lanterne Rouge was getting the second of three such consecutively: Did we pick up Wim and Mauro Vansevenant with Geraint Thomas in the "Racing against fathers and sons" thread a while back? Reply to self: it was in the OP there.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

And then suddenly a whole bunch of familiar names show up in 2013. That year saw the debut of Kristoff, Quintana, Izagirre, Castroviejo, Cimolai, Molard, Kwiatkowski, Van Poppel, Degenkolb, Trentin (PRT), Lutsenko (PRT), Clarke (PRT) and Bardet (very recently retired).

But none of the names mentioned have been anywhere close to being able to achieve something akin to a GT podium as recently as 2024 like Thomas did. The only rider still near the peak of his powers would be Van Poppel, but he is also significantly younger.

Well, the other thing with that is that the longevity as a GC rider is only part of the story since he'd gone through a large part of his career before he became one; Nairo Quintana is four years younger, but at the same age as Thomas had his first glimpses of being anything other than a functional domestique as a climber, Nairo Quintana was already past his GC prime, and they only have a couple of years of overlap between their years of GC contention, with Quintana flaming out relatively young, and Thomas only becoming the rider we now know him as in the latter half of his career. Quintana's arc can also be seen in an even more extreme way with Fabio Aru, who is a relic of the past who was already past his prime and saw his last vestiges of GC relevance at the 2017 Tour, by which time Thomas had never top 10ed any three week race, yet is four years younger than the Welshman.

Obviously you're looking at the Tour specifically, but you could also mention Rigoberto Urán who only just retired, debuted at the Tour in 2009, Andrey Amador who had his first GT at the Giro in 2010, Cameron Wurf did so as well (remaining semi-active but not fully so), as did Steven Kruijswijk (who is still going strong at the WT level now, albeit very much in a helper role), while Domenico Pozzovivo is four years older than Thomas, retired after the 2024 Giro, hit his last top 10 in the 2022 edition, and made his GT debut all the way back in the 2005 edition of the race, scoring his first top 10 way back in 2008 (in that CSF-Navigare team).