For Geraint Thomas, nothing compares to wearing the Tour de France yellow jersey -now he gets to do it all over again.
The British rider put in a quite magnificent display to become the new Tour leader, winning the gruelling and mountainous 11th stage with an empowering assault up the final climb.
Starting the day more than two minutes behind yellow jersey incumbent Greg Van Avermaet, Thomas closed the gap and attacked in the last few kilometres to cross the line after three-and-a-half hours.
Fellow Brit Chris Froome also managed a podium finish in a stage that took the riders 108.5km through the Alps from Albertville to La Rosière, crossing the line third to move up to second overall – nearly 90 seconds behind Thomas.
And having won the opening stage last year to wear yellow for the first time, Welshman Thomas revealed an extra determination to don the famous colour for another day.
“I knew it was a good chance to get the yellow jersey but I didn’t know how everyone else was going to ride, so to wear the jersey is always a massive honour,” said the 32-year-old.
“I managed to do it last year and to do it two years on the trot is pretty nice.
“It’s a really great feeling, we were low on numbers, so it was more just instinct when I went for it, it was more so that we didn’t get caught having to ride.
“To win the stage is amazing, certainly one of the best days of my career, so now I’m going to enjoy the day tomorrow.
“I’ll enjoy the moment and take it day by day. We’ll have a plan for tomorrow and go from there. There’s still half the race to go and anything can happen.
“I had a little gap and then (Chris) Froome could follow the guys then, I committed, got across to (Tom) Dumoulin and then I was able to sit on because Froome was coming across.”
Former Sky teammate Mikel Nieve led the stage for much of the race but Thomas decided to close the Spaniard down, a decision he justified by powering over the line in first place 1,855 metres up into the mountains.
Thomas added: “I could see Frosty (Nieve), he’s a good mate and it’s a shame but I had to go for that win.
“We were expecting attacks, when they go it’s never nice to see them riding away but we had confidence in each other and rode really well.”
Thomas will wear the yellow jersey when the Tour continues from Bourg-Saint-Maurice Les Arcs around 21 bends to the notorious Alpe d’Huez.
Sportsbeat 2018