Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

news

"We're going to have some questions about leadership" says Geraint Thomas about prospect of lining up at next year’s Tour alongside Chris Froome and Egan Bernal

Ineos could field three different Tour-winners at next year’s race

Geraint Thomas expects even more debate about team leadership should he start next year’s Tour de France for Team Ineos alongside Chris Froome and Egan Bernal. He also says that Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the founder of Ineos, is “just a genuine guy who loves his sport”.

Bernal became the first Colombian to win the Tour de France this year and the fourth rider from Team Ineos, formerly Team Sky.

Sir Bradley Wiggins has now retired, but four-time winner Froome is aiming to take part in next year’s race having suffered a broken leg in the lead-up to this year’s edition, while Thomas finished second this year after winning in 2018.

"You know what he's like," Thomas told ITV, referring to Froome. "When he's not on his bike, all his attention has shifted to his rehab and it's remarkable to see how quickly he's improved. Hopefully I'll get a chance to go and see him and catch up soon.

"Next year's Grand Depart for the Tour is in Nice, which is just down the road from where we train. If all three of us are there on the start line – me, Froomey and Egan – jeez, we're going to have some questions about leadership.”

The bigger question, according to Thomas, will be how other teams try to counter that.

"The other teams will have to answer those questions on the road,” he said. “We've always been honest, clear and communicated with each other, so it will be great to have that strength next year."

Conceding that he is “a lot closer to the end than the start” compared to Bernal, Thomas denied that he was past his best. “Certain stuff filters through to me and it spurs me on," he said.

The Welshman is also happy that the brief uncertainty over the team’s future has ended after Ineos took over team sponsorship in May.  

Ineos was founded by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the UK’s richest man, a billionaire Brexit backer who was recently reported to be moving for tax reasons to Monaco, where Thomas and Froome are based.

Thomas seems to have a reasonably good (if slightly odd) relationship with Ratcliffe.

"Obviously that wasn't the best time," he said of the period when Sir Dave Brailsford was looking for a new sponsor. "But it's amazing that we should find such a great boss to come in and take over the whole thing.

"You would never know that Jim is worth billions and billions. He's just a genuine guy who loves his sport and it's great that he's backed the team and left us to carry on what we'd been doing before.

"I speak to him quite a lot – I sent him a quick video when I was in the back of one of the commissaires' cars with a bottle of champagne. I promised I wouldn't overdo it and I was only having the one."

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

Add new comment

6 comments

Avatar
maviczap | 5 years ago
0 likes

Having seen G during the individual TT and Tormalet this year, it was clear that he just didn't have that sparkling form he had in 2018, he looked quicker than Bernal in the TT. According to a bloke who was a guest in one of the team cars, Michelton Scott, Ineos and Cofidis had a stomach bug, Bourne out by the Adam Yates poor performance?

True or not, there were a lot of poor performaces this year, Porte, Martin,Garret and a lot of average ones. 

Avatar
alansmurphy | 5 years ago
0 likes

He's saying the same as you Htc.

 

I would counter that i think Bernal did look a bit more able to go when the likes of Pinot were attacking. We don't know that on the penultimate mountain stage that G wouldn't have closed the gap on the flat and kept his GC 'lead' given that JA had gone. Despite his interviews, I think that'll bug Gee the most, the way it panned out meant he didn't get to succeed or fail at full gas but more due to circumstance...

Avatar
peted76 | 5 years ago
0 likes

I don't think Thomas didn't win the race because Bernal was massively better than him this year. I think their leadership was finally decided on the 1,2, counter moves which took place, one attacks, it gets brought back the other attacks, it gets brought back, the other attacks, it stays away and the other has to sit in otherwise risk diminishing the attack. That happened a couple of times. It could have easily worked the other way around. If G was off form, it couldn't have been by much.  

Ifs buts and maybes ..Viva le Tour!

Avatar
Htc replied to peted76 | 5 years ago
1 like

peted76 wrote:

I don't think Thomas didn't win the race because Bernal was massively better than him this year. I think their leadership was finally decided on the 1,2, counter moves which took place, one attacks, it gets brought back the other attacks, it gets brought back, the other attacks, it stays away and the other has to sit in otherwise risk diminishing the attack. That happened a couple of times. It could have easily worked the other way around. If G was off form, it couldn't have been by much.  

Ifs buts and maybes ..Viva le Tour!

 

I don't know what race you were watching but I didn't see Bernal being much better than Thomas at any point. Team tactics and the fact that the other GC guys would be marking Thomas more than Bernal meant that tactical it made sense to send Bernal up the road and allow Thomas to sit in if the others decided to chase. If not then Thomas could jump later on. Unfortunately the last two stages were cut short so we wern't able to find out if he would have had the legs to finish off the move that the team started.

Avatar
RobD | 5 years ago
0 likes

I think as well as being honest with each other they need to be honest with themselves, knowing you haven't quite got the form that year and accepting it are slightly different things. Although a not 100% on form Thomas still finished second so I guess even if you're not at your peak you just need to be better than the rest.

If Carapaz really has signed to Ineos then they could end up with an embarrassment of riches next year. The three past tour winners, the past two Giro winners and the winner of a Vuelta within the last 3. I wouldn't be that surprised if they wrapped up all 3 Grand tours, although at the same time it could all fall apart and they might walk away with none, I think the former is more likely though.

Avatar
Organon | 5 years ago
1 like

No real problem. Tell guy-A that he is leader. Let him take all the media pressure. Wait for him to crash. Promote guy-B. It has worked before.

Latest Comments