Although he finished just one place ahead of the Lanterne Rouge in his first Tour de France, placing 140th, Geraint Thomas has said that he hopes that he might be able to go on to win the race in future years.
The double Olympic champion made his Tour debut in 2007, battling through to finish it at 21 years of age. Since then he finished 118th in the 2008 Giro d’Italia, 67th in the 2010 Tour and then 31st the following season.
He missed the race this year due to his focus on the Olympic Games, but placed 80th in the Giro d’Italia.
“I don’t see why I can’t follow what Bradley has done, but at the moment, it is hard to say how I will develop,” Thomas told Wales Online. “If you had sat Brad down when he was 26, there was no chance he would have said he would win the Tour de France. And if you compare what Brad had done at my age, you might say I am a little bit ahead.”
However Thomas accepts that comparing the progress of one rider to another doesn’t mean that the same results will be achieved. “I can see now that it can be done, but just because Bradley has achieved it, does not mean I will because he is a phenomenal bike rider,” he said.
“It is a dream to one day be the leader of a team and give it a go for the win. I have to see how I develop but what Team Sky have proved is anything is possible.”
The Welshman said that he and others all laughed when Sky principal Dave Brailsford said that the team was aiming for a British winner of the Tour de France. Considering it a ‘bold statement,’ he now sees that it has worked out. “It is crazy the way the team has moved forward over the last three years,” he said.
Thomas had focussed this year on being at his best for the team pursuit and went on to take his second consecutive Olympic gold medal in that discipline. Now he plans to focus completely on road racing and he admits that there is a chance he might not compete on the track again in the Games.
“My aim right now for Rio is to ride the time trial on the road and see how I develop,” he said.
Thomas said that the outline of his 2013 season has been mapped out already. The Sky rider will channel his energy into targeting the Classics, encouraged perhaps by his fine third place on the 2010 Tour de France stage to Arenberg Porte du Hainaut. That leg of the race crossed many of the iconic pave sections of Paris-Roubaix and in getting into the lead group which fought it out for the win, Thomas showed that he had the power and ability to race well over the cobbles. He also took over the white jersey for best young rider in the Tour, wearing it from stage three to six.
After the Classics, he said that his second big focus is the Tour de France. He’ll ride for the team there, ideally helping either Wiggins or Chris Froome to fight for the yellow jersey, but also hope to see some progress of his own.
“I am looking to climb better, get leaner and see how I improve,” he said. “It is the biggest race on the calendar and everyone knows about the event, so I am looking to get back in the thick of it.”