The scale of his latest achievement was only just starting to sink in for Geraint Thomas after the Welshman won the 70th Criterium du Dauphine.
The scale of his latest achievement was only just starting to sink in for Geraint Thomas after the Welshman won the 70th Criterium du Dauphine.
The 32-year-old finished the day in the yellow jersey after a fifth-place finish on stage seven was enough to hold off fellow Brit Adam Yates.
But the two-time Olympic team pursuit champion was made to work hard for the win, including overcoming two punctures in the second half of the 136km stage from Moutiers to Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc, before being paced back by his Team Sky teammates to regain position each time.
Yates secured the stage victory for Mitchelton-Scott with a late drive to the line but it was not enough to take the title off Thomas, who finished with an overall time of 24 hours 43 minutes and 12 seconds - Team Sky's sixth victory in the race in the past eight years.
“I was always thinking of the next stage, the next climb and it’s an amazing feeling [to win] and I think it will really start to sink in tonight. It’s a massive race and it’s an incredible feeling,” said Thomas, who was victorious by a minute.
“The puncture didn’t really help and having to chase back on, but the guys were just incredible, they rode really well for me and I had the legs to get back.
“I was just counting down the kilometres on the last climb and knew I had about 1’20” to lose on [Adam] Yates so as each kilometre went by I was more confident and happy [with each passing kilometre]. When they started sprinting with 300m to go I was like, it’s done - finally.
“I’m just going to enjoy this win now, rest up and recover and look forward to July." Sportsbeat 2018