"Maybe it’s more of a young man’s sport these days, and I’m too old. It’s a good time to stop." - Geraint Thomas says goodbye to the Tour de France 18 years later

Geraint Thomas is retiring from pro cycling later this year and in Paris he has concluded his 14th Tour de France. This is the raced that has marked the Welshman's career the most after he won it back in 2018, and he has received a proper goodbye from his peers in Paris as he comes close to ending one of Great Britain's most prestigious careers of the century.

“I think the final stage summed up my Tour, to be honest. It was in pieces, there was a lot going on today with the rain and everything, and it kind of reflected my mood," Thomas said in words to TNT Sports. It was a tough Tour for Thomas who didn't have the legs to fight for the overall classification and also saw his leader Carlos Rodríguez withdraw in the final week due to a sequence of crashes.

Thomas himself has managed to go on the attack quite a few times during his final Grand Boucle in search of a stage win but he was ultimately not successful. The team's race was saved by Thymen Arensman's mythical run in the mountains, winning stages both in the Pyrenees and Alps - the only rider to do so this year.

As for Thomas, he closed down his final Tour with a smile on his face and the acknowledgment that it is the right time. “I’m super happy it’s done. I’m happy with my decision to retire as well because the race and the physical aspect is one thing, but I feel like everything else has changed in the sport. It’s not just that people are training better and are more dialed, it just feels more chaotic in the peloton. It’s like a game of chicken, and no one wants to move. Maybe it’s more of a young man’s sport these days, and I’m too old. It’s a good time to stop.”

The 39-year old has raced the Tour for the first time in 2007 and has managed to see several generations come and go. Still, his final Tour stage, in the rainy streets of Paris, may have been one of the sketchiest he's ever done. “It was horrific today – the worst last stage I’ve ever done, but at the same time, that last lap was the best last lap I’ve ever done. So you’ve got to take positives and negatives, like anything in life.”

But in Montmartre Thomas got the praise that few other events could ever deliver, with thousands cheering him on to culminate a collective tribute that has been ongoing for weeks. “The final lap was amazing once it had settled down. The course was horrible, but the crowd was unbelievable," he describes.

"That last time up the climb, I was riding with Toms Skujins from Lidl-Trek, and he let me go in front. The crowd was insane, I think he was geeing them up, but it was special, a nice way to end. Even though the circuit is horrendous, it was actually a really nice way to finish, to be in a group riding up there in one line rather than in a peloton".