21 Jul 2022
Consistent Thomas holds third
Related riders
Tour de France - Stage 18 » Lourdes › Hautacam, 143.2km
Geraint Thomas took another strong step towards third place at the Tour de France with another accomplished climbing performance on stage 18.
The final day in the mountains saw Thomas again ride to his own tempo, finishing fourth atop the Hautacam, extending his third-place margin out to three minutes and five seconds in the process.
Thomas was helped by teammate Dani Martinez on the final climb. The Colombian has continued to get stronger in the final week, again making the day’s break and putting himself in position to help the Welshman late on. Martinez had begun the final climb in a group of three, but the trio, which included Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), saw their advantage quickly closed down by the yellow jersey group. Dylan van Baarle had also been part of the early move.
In the end it was Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) who won the stage emphatically, extending his grip on yellow over Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) heading into the final three days.
The final day in the mountains saw Thomas again ride to his own tempo, finishing fourth atop the Hautacam, extending his third-place margin out to three minutes and five seconds in the process.
Thomas was helped by teammate Dani Martinez on the final climb. The Colombian has continued to get stronger in the final week, again making the day’s break and putting himself in position to help the Welshman late on. Martinez had begun the final climb in a group of three, but the trio, which included Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), saw their advantage quickly closed down by the yellow jersey group. Dylan van Baarle had also been part of the early move.
In the end it was Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) who won the stage emphatically, extending his grip on yellow over Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) heading into the final three days.
Adam Yates hung on well to retain a position inside the overall top 10 after the final summit finish. The Brit sits 10th overall, with Tom Pidcock now 18th on the GC. The team again extended their lead in the team GC out to almost 33 minutes.
Reaction
- Geraint Thomas
"I was going through highs and lows today. I felt alright and when it was kicking off I thought I’d ride my own pace. That’s why I went past those boys (Pogacar and Vingegaard), I’d just had enough of those attacks that they were doing. I just tried to keep riding my pace. On the last climb I wanted to try and stay with them until the steep bit, as that’s the fastest bit – then just ride my own pace. I struggled a bit there, had a bad patch but came round a bit. I realised I had a puncture and I felt a lot better after that. It was a case of just following Dani and he did a great job.
- Geraint Thomas
"I was going through highs and lows today. I felt alright and when it was kicking off I thought I’d ride my own pace. That’s why I went past those boys (Pogacar and Vingegaard), I’d just had enough of those attacks that they were doing. I just tried to keep riding my pace. On the last climb I wanted to try and stay with them until the steep bit, as that’s the fastest bit – then just ride my own pace. I struggled a bit there, had a bad patch but came round a bit. I realised I had a puncture and I felt a lot better after that. It was a case of just following Dani and he did a great job.
"We still have tomorrow with crosswinds all day. Nothing is straightforward in this race. Then the TT so I’ll try and recover and get ready for that."