Teams & Riders Geraint Thomas

[Eyeballs Out]

If he can repeat this level again for a different team then absolutely he can be a contender I think. The level seemed pretty high regardless of Froome and Dumoulin doing the Giro. Bardet had no real excuse that I saw and if he was at the same level as previously then perhaps Froome was better than the previous couple of years. Quintana was confident he was spot on this time but was well below Thomas. Maybe Nibali was going to improve but up to the point where he crashed out he was no match for Thomas either. Another thing to mention is that the unusually good weather (very warm, no wind) was very much against Thomas

 

[Tim Booth]

Re:

If he wants to stay competitive in GT's then he'll stay with Sky. If he wants a bit MORE MONEY then I don't know what team can afford to surpass a Sky offer ? I think he looks at options but stays put. It would be disastrous for him if he left Sky. No other team has the ability to train it up mountains.

what SKY pay him became irrelevant on Sunday. Welcome to the world of advertising !

 

[Inquitus]

Re:

If he can repeat this level again for a different team then absolutely he can be a contender I think. The level seemed pretty high regardless of Froome and Dumoulin doing the Giro. Bardet had no real excuse that I saw and if he was at the same level as previously then perhaps Froome was better than the previous couple of years. Quintana was confident he was spot on this time but was well below Thomas. Maybe Nibali was going to improve but up to the point where he crashed out he was no match for Thomas either. Another thing to mention is that the unusually good weather (very warm, no wind) was very much against Thomas

Thomas was definitely the strongest rider in the Tour, granted he was never challenged, he stayed upright and missed all the splits at key moments. He grabbed a few bonus seconds and ended up 2 minutes ahead without having to do all that much. It would have been nice to see someone put it up to him to see how much he had left in the tank, but in the end there was no-one to touch him.

I think Dumoulin or Froome without the Giro in their legs would have put it up to him more, and I believe Porte was the biggest danger, but sadly he crashed badly again. Given his superiority I think Thomas would have won the tour this year on another team, even without the Sky train. Could he win it on another team next year, sure he could, but it would be a much tougher proposition especially if his closest competitors this time don't try the double.

Sky have a bit of a headache now, though perhaps its a nice one to have. If Froome is not in decline, and there are no sure signs he is, he is also only one year older than Thomas, then how do they handle the Tour next year, who's the number 1? This issue was sidestepped this year due to Froome losing time early on, and in the end simply not having it in the legs. Thomas is certainly going to want to defend his title next year, but will Sky guarantee him the leadership? probably not, the best he can hope for is some co-leader arrangement like this year, but without Froome fading that's not much of a guarantee!

 

[Leinster]

I think it’s completely reasonable that Sky would ask Thomas and Froome to share leadership roles next season. It worked out brilliantly this year, and I can’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work just the same next year. They might have to make a decision earlier if, say, Dumoulin or Roglic is clearly on better form than this year, or if they lose a crucial mountain domestique for the train. But ultimately, if it ain’t broke, and 1st and 3rd this year says is ain’t, then don’t fix it.

 

[Inquitus]

Re:

I think it’s completely reasonable that Sky would ask Thomas and Froome to share leadership roles next season. It worked out brilliantly this year, and I can’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work just the same next year. They might have to make a decision earlier if, say, Dumoulin or Roglic is clearly on better form than this year, or if they lose a crucial mountain domestique for the train. But ultimately, if it ain’t broke, and 1st and 3rd this year says is ain’t, then don’t fix it.

Perhaps, it worked out well for them this time as there was really no need to have any difficult discussions, that may not be the case in future.

 

[Moviefan1203]

Next year will be a different scenario without the Giro in the legs of Froome and Dumoulin. Not saying G won’t be at their level, but he had an easy go of it this year.

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

Next year will be a different scenario without the Giro in the legs of Froome and Dumoulin. Not saying G won’t be at their level, but he had an easy go of it this year.

It helps when the team does a good TTT, he doesn't crash unlike most of his rivals and the two most likely challengers have done the Giro as you say. The win by Thomas was more convincing than Froome's last two Tour wins and Dumoulin said he felt better in the Tour than the Giro which i found odd. Maybe a bit of rivalry talking there and mind games. I think if Thomas wants to do the Tour again as co leader they will probably let him but I think they will try to guide him towards the Giro. Personally I would rather see Froome do the Giro/Vuelta but the fifth tour win is a big carrot for him.

 

[oldcrank]

Re: Re:

Next year will be a different scenario without the Giro in the legs of Froome and Dumoulin. Not saying G won’t be at their level, but he had an easy go of it this year.

It helps when the team does a good TTT, he doesn't crash unlike most of his rivals and the two most likely challengers have done the Giro as you say. The win by Thomas was more convincing than Froome's last two Tour wins and Dumoulin said he felt better in the Tour than the Giro which i found odd. Maybe a bit of rivalry talking there and mind games. I think if Thomas wants to do the Tour again as co leader they will probably let him but I think they will try to guide him towards the Giro. Personally I would rather see Froome do the Giro/Vuelta but the fifth tour win is a big carrot for him.

Agreed. I have been saying the same thing. It would be amazing
to see the FroomeDawg pull off the Giro/Vuelta double next year,
but if Sir Dave, Nico, Tim, Froomey and SuperG have other plans
I will trust their knowledge and experience in winning Grand Tours
with a unified, cohesive, goal-oriented and successful organisation.

 

[dastott]

Geraint was the strongest rider in the most stacked GC field for many years. Big Tom was (according to himself) climbing better than ever but couldn't distance him. Froome was obviously fading a bit in the mountains after the Giro (is this age catching up with him, or the crashes taking a toll?) but still managed a great TT (only 1 second off Big Tom). Thomas won this GT more comfortably than Froome's 2017 TdF and 2018 Giro wins. Sky would be foolish to not give him co-leadership with Froome. Who knows, we might not have seen peak Thomas yet...

 

[Leinster]

Yes, they didn’t need to have the tough conversation on this year’s Tour. That’s not to say they didn’t discuss some tough issues along the way. Besides which, I think we can say with certainty that Brailsford would/will be happy to act as referee between the 2 and say “you are working for him now, and here are the power meter readings, blood test results, and precise analysis of the remaining stages that determine this.” And the lads will accept the decision and move on.

 

[dastott]

Re:

I think we can say with certainty that Brailsford would/will be happy to act as referee between the 2 and say “you are working for him now, and here are the power meter readings, blood test results, and precise analysis of the remaining stages that determine this.” And the lads will accept the decision and move on.

Indeed. If I were Brailsford I'd give Thomas the option of the Giro/Tour double next year. Would be interesting to see him try and would give Froome a better chance of the historic 5th.

 

[Lequack]

I'm not sure how Froome would take another of this "well only take G along as backup" deals, knowing that G might win again.

 

[Leinster]

Re:

I'm not sure how Froome would take another of this "well only take G along as backup" deals, knowing that G might win again.

I’m sure Froome realises just as well as any of us that he might well still be a footnote domestique best known for getting kicked off the Giro if it hadn’t been for Sky. I can’t see either him or G leaving. If they do, they’re nuts.

 

[Eyeballs Out]

I suppose it depends on what Sky are prepared to offer in terms of money and status within the team against what alternatives there are. Lack of current alternatives might be the biggest reason to stay. Thomas should be asking for at least the same money and status within the team as Froome. While he has *only* won one Tour he's a lot more marketable than Froome and he's a lot more versatile - he's got a classics pedigree for example

If he takes a big contract elsewhere that sets him up for life after cycling what is the worst that can happen ? He's 32, has just won the Tour and at least he won't be getting booed all round France next July

 

[Red Rick]

Riding against Sky is probably a lot worse than riding for Sky in the Tour. Unless Sky are saying "lol you go Giro" I don't see him leaving.

He's been one of Sky's team leaders in some big races since the team's inception. Sky's probably gonna offer the most money anyway.

 

[Salvarani]

Re:

Riding against Sky is probably a lot worse than riding for Sky in the Tour. Unless Sky are saying "lol you go Giro" I don't see him leaving.

He's been one of Sky's team leaders in some big races since the team's inception. Sky's probably gonna offer the most money anyway.

His best chance is probably riding next year exactly like this year and hope he has the same luck with no crashes/mechanicals. Then just sitting behind that train, hope he will be in same the great form and that he is strong enough to follow. If he stays and if he rides Tour.

 

[del1962]

I guess it depends on his ambitions for the future, but it is difficult to see him leaving Sky

 

[Lequack]

He is too British to leave Sky I think, who else would put up with those sideburns.

 

[bigcog]

Re:

He is too British to leave Sky I think, who else would put up with those sideburns.

He'd be shocked if he left. SDB seems to like him a lot.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

So he didn’t sign a new contract pre Tour and therefore avoided making the biggest financial mistake of his life. Presumably he will now be able to extract a guarantee of coleadership if he wants the Tour again next year.

 

[Leinster]

Re:

If he takes a big contract elsewhere that sets him up for life after cycling what is the worst that can happen ? He's 32, has just won the Tour and at least he won't be getting booed all round France next July

2 things on the bold above.
1) It’s unlikely that any other team will be able to match what Sky will be offering him. Even if they do match, they’ll unlikely be able to exceed it by enough to tempt him away.
2) If the only money he ever receives again for the rest of his life is what the Beeb are going to pay him every 4 years to talk about Olympic cycling for 2 weeks, he’ll already be set. Olympic Gold Medallist and Tour de France winter Geraint Thomas is not going to be short a few bob no matter where he goes next.

 

[movingtarget]

Thomas has probably already noted that there is going to be another TTT in next year's Tour. BMC has been scattered to the four winds. What other team can offer him the same support as Sky ? If he signs for two more years with Sky and does well then he has a choice to maybe think of the money as his retirement contract instead of staying with a winning team maybe or maybe he will think by then that it makes no sense to change teams late in his career and at that age Sky will match what he could expect from elsewhere. Not every rider wants to ride until 37 or 38 although it seems to be happening more often these days but not so much with team leaders who are probably too used to winning by then and have no intentions of riding for younger riders. Usually it's the middle of the road GC riders like Roche or Kreuziger who opt for the domestique role instead of chasing top 10s and get paid well to do it.

 

[oldcrank]

SuperG yesterday at his homecoming celebration commenting on
his recent Tour victory: 'I thought it would be harder, actually.'
That must be demoralising for all the French riders, fans & media.

 

[myrideissteelerthanyours]

SuperG yesterday at his homecoming celebration commenting on
his recent Tour victory: 'I thought it would be harder, actually.'
That must be demoralising for all the French riders, fans & media.

Maybe he reads this forum and was expecting to be demolished by Valverde

 

[oldcrank]

SuperG yesterday at his homecoming celebration commenting on
his recent Tour victory: 'I thought it would be harder, actually.'
That must be demoralising for all the French riders, fans & media.

Maybe he reads this forum and was expecting to be demolished by Valverde

:lol: Ya can't blame him for respecting the opinions of the "experts" can you? :lol: