Thomas extends podium advantage atop Peyragudes

20 Jul 2022

Thomas extends podium advantage atop Peyragudes

Related riders

Tour de France - Stage 17 » Saint-Gaudens › Peyragudes, 129.7km

Geraint Thomas dug deep and used all of his experience to finish fourth on stage 17 at the Tour de France.
 
The Welshman extended his third-placed advantage out to two minutes and 57 seconds over Nairo Quintana (Arkea Samsic) with a measured performance on another brutal day of climbing.
 
Opting not to try and follow the stinging pace of UAE Team Emirates and the yellow jersey, Thomas settled into his own rhythm and was able to finish solo atop Peyragudes.
 
Adam Yates became distanced on the Hourquette d’Ancizan climb and battled hard to remain in the top 10 overall. The Brit sits ninth on the GC, 14:33 back, after finishing 21st on the stage. Tom Pidcock also became distanced on the same climb and now holds 15th overall.
 
Dylan van Baarle and Jonathan Castroviejo were present in the day’s break, which took until the Col d’Aspin to go clear. The pair finished 17th and 19th respectively on the stage, helping the team further extend their advantage in the team classification to 31:39.
null

Reaction

- Geraint Thomas

"I felt alright but didn’t feel quite as light on the pedals as I’ve done earlier in the race. I just wasn’t feeling tip-top today. I was there but I made the call to wait for the group behind rather than try and battle and go into the red trying to get back to the group, blowing up and risk losing even more time. I waited for the group behind, saved the legs a bit and was able to ride a solid pace all the way to the line then.
 
"Fair play to [UAE] they really took that on and Pogacar deserved it. Chapeau to him."