Geraint Thomas: Former champion bids farewell to Tour de France
A decision on what comes next can wait. First, a chance to spend more time with family.
When Thomas sealed victory after the final time trial in 2018, the first person he saw after crossing the finish line was his wife Sara, flown in by the team bosses to surprise their new champion. On Sunday, she was by his side once more.
“It hasn’t really hit home yet that this is the last one. We were just walking up the Champs Elysees, seeing the Arc de Triomphe and thinking, ‘It’s not every day you get to do this’,” Sara said.
“It is a big part of our life but we’re both very sure it’s the right time to finish and excited for what lies ahead.
“The highs are amazing but the lows are so incredibly low that sometimes you start thinking if it’s worthwhile, but then you get those amazing days again.
“It’s going to be strange. It’s going to be quite an adjustment having him always at home. It will be nice for him to do the mundane jobs, like the school pick-up and drop-off. Less travelling and being in one place for longer. I’m looking forward to that.”
The feeling was mutual.
“When you actually start to think about everything you’ve been through, you know, that’s when it gets a bit like… yeah, it gets you,” Thomas said, his voice breaking a little.
“They go through so much, just as much as me, if not more because they live the highs, but they live all the lows as well.
“And it’s just been great that Macs has been able to be on the podium with me three times. Special memories.”
This is not quite the end of the road for Thomas, who will retire fully at the end of this year. Before then, there is time for one final race, September’s Tour of Britain which will fittingly finish in Cardiff.
As a child with dreams of becoming a professional cyclists, Thomas had no Welsh role models whose paths he could follow, so he blazed his own trail.
By becoming the first Welshman to win the Tour de France – having been only the second to compete in the iconic race – Thomas transformed cycling in his homeland, and secured his own legendary status.
The thousands who lined the streets of Cardiff for his 2018 homecoming were proof of that; freshly-converted cycling fans congregating to form the kind of throng usually reserved for Six Nations matchdays in the Welsh capital.
That is Thomas’ Tour legacy.
“This is where it all stated,” Thomas said as he motioned towards the splendour of his Parisian surroundings.
“I did it my first year as a pro and was the youngest guy then and the oldest guy now, so it’s full circle. It’s the pinnacle of the sport, it’s the biggest bike race in the world.
“To do 14 is unreal really, one hell of a journey.”