Teams & Riders Geraint Thomas

[awavey]

Caveat here is that I'm not British and I don't really read British media that much, so this might not apply to those who do, but do I feel that Thomas is slightly underappreciated and has not really been taken as seriously as he deserves. Maybe because every year since 2019 has brought the 'is he done now?' discussion, only for him to prove everyone wrong a few months later, after that discussion has already been concluded in his disfavour.

His standing as a great cyclist might also have suffered a bit from the success of Wiggins and Froome. But at least he has the 'normal and likeable guy' reputation going for him.

He's probably gone under the radar of most Brits, outside of cycling, in terms of his best results/achievements came whilst other Brit riders had larger personalities that dominated the narratives instead, and he just became part of the furniture at Sky/Ineos.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

So he spent the last 6 years promising to do another spring with the classics and then never did it

 

[Wyndbrook]

So he spent the last 6 years promising to do another spring with the classics and then never did it

Sadly it appears so.

 

[Wyndbrook]

He's probably gone under the radar of most Brits, outside of cycling, in terms of his best results/achievements came whilst other Brit riders had larger personalities that dominated the narratives instead, and he just became part of the furniture at Sky/Ineos.

I guess he was mainstream UK media July to December 2019, but outside of then probably not.

He's very popular with british fans, especially those who race, I think he fits into the group of riders that are considered to have the right credentials. To me I consider those to be the likes of Sean Yates, Dan Martin, Ian Stannard to name three.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

A respectable career in pro bike racing. Good in interviews too. Lets see if he can go out with a bang.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Caveat here is that I'm not British and I don't really read British media that much, so this might not apply to those who do, but do I feel that Thomas is slightly underappreciated and has not really been taken as seriously as he deserves. Maybe because every year since 2019 has brought the 'is he done now?' discussion, only for him to prove everyone wrong a few months later, after that discussion has already been concluded in his disfavour.

His standing as a great cyclist might also have suffered a bit from the success of Wiggins and Froome. But at least he has the 'normal and likeable guy' reputation going for him.

Au contraire, I think Geraint Thomas has been taken far more seriously than he deserves.

 

[samhocking]

Depends how you're looking at it. To still be extremely competitive as shown by still finishing on GT podium last year at 37 is unavoidable to be taken seriously. Only other obvious GC rider that springs to mind having a comparable end to a career would be Contador, although he was 3-4 years younger in his final GC podium.

 

[Squire]

A respectable career in pro bike racing. Good in interviews too. Lets see if he can go out with a bang.

I'd say more than respectable, and I feel posts like this underscores my point a bit. Thomas has a very similar palmares to Cadel Evans: same GT win/number of podiums, Thomas better in other stage races, Evans' Flèche a bit better than E3, and then there's Evans' WC which probably elevates him a bit above Thomas even if considering Thomas' two Olympic track gold medals.

Evans is held as a cycling legend for the ages in his home country while also having a great reputation elsewhere, and I'm quite sure Thomas would have a somewhat similar status in the UK if it wasn't for Wiggins/Froome having just preceded him. I think Thomas is quite unlucky in that regard. Going the other way though, you can maybe argue that Evans faced a stronger generation of opponents than what Thomas did, at least around Thomas' Tour win.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

I'd say more than respectable, and I feel posts like this underscores my point a bit. Thomas has a very similar palmares to Cadel Evans: same GT win/number of podiums, Thomas better in other stage races, Evans' Flèche a bit better than E3, and then there's Evans' WC which probably elevates him a bit above Thomas even if considering Thomas' two Olympic track gold medals.

Evans is held as a cycling legend for the ages in his home country while also having a great reputation elsewhere, and I'm quite sure Thomas would have a somewhat similar status in the UK if it wasn't for Wiggins/Froome having just preceded him. I think Thomas is quite unlucky in that regard. Going the other way though, you can maybe argue that Evans faced a stronger generation of opponents than what Thomas did, at least around Thomas' Tour win.

I hear what you are saying. Still I think respectable is correct. Evans career was also respectable. I respect what they have achieved in the sport. I don't don't think any of them have outstanding or remarkable careers.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Interestingly (or not as the case may be), I'm the exact opposite. In my opinion he has had an outstanding and remarkable career, but I don't respect it.

At the end of the day, given the number of people who have had careers in pro cycling since the Tour de France has been the biggest race in the sport, which is most of its lifetime as a sport, and the number of people who have won it, it's impossible not to say that the career of any Tour de France winner is outstanding.

He seems like a decent enough guy though.

 

[Red Rick]

I'm gonna miss that one attack/20 years, not gonna lie.

 

[pastronef]

Interestingly (or not as the case may be), I'm the exact opposite. In my opinion he has had an outstanding and remarkable career, but I don't respect it.

He seems like a decent enough guy though.

you don't respect how? I'm trying to look it from you pov. because he doesn't deserve it / should never have been allowed to win the TDF and should have never been allowed to be thin and more or less follow Dumo's path? (or viceversa, Dumo followed G's)?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

you don't respect how? I'm trying to look it from you pov. because he doesn't deserve it / should never have been allowed to win the TDF and should have never been allowed to be thin and more or less follow Dumo's path? (or viceversa, Dumo followed G's)?

Lol at Dumo following G's path.

 

[pastronef]

Lol at Dumo following G's path.

yep sorry, my mistake. Dumo followed Wiggo's path

Tom Dumoulin: 'Bradley Wiggins showed me what's possible'

Dutchman Tom Dumoulin is fourth overall in the Vuelta a España and is hoping to move up after Wednesday's key time trial stage, taking cues from Britain's Sir Bradley Wiggins

www.cyclingweekly.com

 

[tobydawq]

Lol at Dumo following G's path.

Apart from that, doesn't he have a point?

Is it only his defensive riding style that makes his career disreputable to you? Or are track riders not allowed to reconsider their careers?

I think he has had an incredible career trajectory and is an inspiration because he has managed an entirely different work/life balance than all other world class bike riders of the time, he is a funny and as you say, very decent guy, but his racing style has of course not been attractive.

 

[Netserk]

Apart from that, doesn't he have a point?

Is it only his defensive riding style that makes his career disreputable to you? Or are track riders not allowed to reconsider their careers?

I think he has had an incredible career trajectory and is an inspiration because he has managed an entirely different work/life balance than all other world class bike riders of the time, he is a funny and as you say, very decent guy, but his racing style has of course not been attractive.

Do you also admire the career trajectory of Chris Horner?

 

[tobydawq]

Do you also admire the career trajectory of Chris Horner?

So it's because she thinks he was doping to get to where he went?

I don't think he did.

Edit: That's not to say that I accuse Horner of that, but I guess that was what you alluded to?

 

[Netserk]

So it's because she thinks he was doping to get to where he went?

I don't think he did.

Edit: That's not to say that I accuse Horner of that, but I guess that was what you alluded to?

Horner never tested positive, and in any case it's not a subject of discussion here. I'm strictly talking about his career trajectory: he was a very late bloomer. Why wouldn't that be inspiring, if you find that of Thomas so?

 

[tobydawq]

Horner never tested positive, and in any case it's not a subject of discussion here. I'm strictly talking about his career trajectory: he was a very late bloomer. Why wouldn't that be inspiring, if you find that of Thomas so?

41 ≠ 32

And Thomas was always elite at what he did. He won gold in Beijing.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Apart from that, doesn't he have a point?

Is it only his defensive riding style that makes his career disreputable to you? Or are track riders not allowed to reconsider their careers?

I think he has had an incredible career trajectory and is an inspiration because he has managed an entirely different work/life balance than all other world class bike riders of the time, he is a funny and as you say, very decent guy, but his racing style has of course not been attractive.

Quite apart from everything else that I disagree with or find disreputable about his career trajectory and his race program over the years and how that reflects on prior statements by people connected to him, I don't think there has ever been a race where I've thought, "you know what, this race would be improved by Geraint Thomas being in it", or that I've ever thought "what a shame for the race" when he's crashed out of one. I've never wished ill on the guy, but when he's been forced to withdraw from a race I can't say I've ever missed him, or even really noticed he was gone.

I also know that Pastronef has admitted that they initially became a fan of Team Sky to be a contrarian, and as somebody who empathises with that tendency to reject what they feel to be a forced narrative, I can at least respect the hustle and dedication required in sticking up for them after all these years, but as a result I know that comparing the career paths of Thomas and Dumoulin, given when their style shifts were, at what stage in their career and at what age they took place, is disingenuous and presented as a false equivalence.

(edit: changed first phrase of second paragraph to be fairer)

 

[Netserk]

41 ≠ 32

And Thomas was always elite at what he did. He won gold in Beijing.

And Michael Mørkøv won gold in Tokyo. Not to mention Lasse Norman Leth, who has more track medals than Thomas.

 

[tobydawq]

And Michael Mørkøv won gold in Tokyo. Not to mention Lasse Norman Leth, who has more track medals than Thomas.

I think you're deliberately missing my point.

Can't you just say forthright what is so terrible about Thomas instead of this annoying game where I have to guess the answers to your riddles?

 

[Red Rick]

I think he has had an incredible career trajectory and is an inspiration because he has managed an entirely different work/life balance than all other world class bike riders of the time, he is a funny and as you say, very decent guy, but his racing style has of course not been attractive.

I don't think it's an inspiration that he could only be assed to be great in the Tour even during his best years. Getting the piss on isn't that inspiring.

 

[pastronef]

I don't think it's an inspiration that he could only be assed to be great in the Tour even during his best years. Getting the piss on isn't that inspiring.

he won Paris-Nice in March, Romandie end of April., Trentino (Alps) in April, podiumed the Giro twice, in May. July WAS the goal for Sky, but Thomas knew how to ride hard not only in July

 

[topcat]

I don't think it's an inspiration that he could only be assed to be great in the Tour even during his best years. Getting the piss on isn't that inspiring.

Going on the piss can be inspiring to people who crave liver failure. G is as inspiring as a damp squib.