05 May 2019
Thomas seals Romandie podium
Related riders
Geraint Thomas
Tour de Romandie - Stage five: Geneve ITT, 16.8km
Geraint Thomas put in a gutsy and controlled performance on the final day at the Tour de Romandie to elevate himself onto the overall podium.
The Welshman set the 10th fastest time in the Geneva time trial to claim third place on the general classification by a slim one-second margin.
Thomas had to dig deep to overturn a seven second deficit to Felix Grossschartner (Bora-Hansgrohe) at the intermediate split, eventually holding on to edge out the Austrian.
The WorldTour stage race represented a strong step forward for the 2018 Tour de France winner, with Thomas constantly racing at the sharp end as his form continues to build ahead of the summer.
Filippo Ganna was one of the early starters and the Italian’s time held up well as third fastest time on the day, just two seconds back on Hour Record holder Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Soudal).
However there was no stopping Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) as the Slovenian powered to a stage and overall double, setting the best time by 13 seconds to make sure of overall victory.
Xabier Zandio
[G] rode really well throughout the race and this was a really good, solid week for him. He's moving in a good direction as we look towards the Tour de France.
Reaction
- Xabier Zandio
"We're very happy to come away with a podium for G. Following on from Pays Basque you can see he's made a big step forward. He rode really well throughout the race and this was a really good, solid week for him. He's moving in a good direction as we look towards the Tour de France.
"It was close for the podium at the end. It's my first race as lead Sport Director so things are still a bit new for me. I tried to push G as much as I could in the time trial and in the end we got a good result.
"It was also great to see Kiry and Swifty back with the team here after some time off the bike. We're really happy with how they rode. We knew it would be hard for them but in the end they felt better than expected, which is really encouraging."
- Xabier Zandio
"We're very happy to come away with a podium for G. Following on from Pays Basque you can see he's made a big step forward. He rode really well throughout the race and this was a really good, solid week for him. He's moving in a good direction as we look towards the Tour de France.
"It was close for the podium at the end. It's my first race as lead Sport Director so things are still a bit new for me. I tried to push G as much as I could in the time trial and in the end we got a good result.
"It was also great to see Kiry and Swifty back with the team here after some time off the bike. We're really happy with how they rode. We knew it would be hard for them but in the end they felt better than expected, which is really encouraging."
Stage five result:
1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 19:58
2. Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Soudal) +13"
3. Filippo Ganna (Team INEOS) +15"
4. Patrick Bevin (CCC Team) +16"
5. Tony Martin (Jumbo-Visma) s.t.
10. Geraint Thomas (Team INEOS) +46"
Final standings:
1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 15:25:11
2. Rui Costa (UAE-Team Emirates) +49"
3. Geraint Thomas (Team INEOS) +1:12"
4. Felix Grossschartner (Bora-Hansgrohe) +1:13"
5. David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) +1:17"
1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 19:58
2. Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Soudal) +13"
3. Filippo Ganna (Team INEOS) +15"
4. Patrick Bevin (CCC Team) +16"
5. Tony Martin (Jumbo-Visma) s.t.
10. Geraint Thomas (Team INEOS) +46"
Final standings:
1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 15:25:11
2. Rui Costa (UAE-Team Emirates) +49"
3. Geraint Thomas (Team INEOS) +1:12"
4. Felix Grossschartner (Bora-Hansgrohe) +1:13"
5. David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) +1:17"
