Geraint Thomas fears for Pogacar on the cobbles against Van der Poel: "His explosiveness is so good, he should actually be arrested for it"
Cycling
Geraint Thomas closed the chapter on Milano-Sanremo for the final time this past weekend, finishing 71st in what turned out to be one of the most memorable editions of the race in recent years. The INEOS Grenadiers rider took part in the Classicissima for the last time, soaking in the atmosphere and spectacle of a race he has long cherished.
Speaking on his own podcast after the race, Thomas shared his thoughts on the explosive finale, which saw Mathieu van der Poel outgun Tadej Pogacar, Filippo Ganna, and the rest of the favourites to take a stunning solo victory.
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"It was a great final. Filippo Ganna did everything right and he was so incredibly strong, even in the sprint. But Van der Poel was so good, that you couldn't really do anything about that. But when you saw how these three riders rode... it was so impressive, and I'm really happy for Filippo that he did so well."
Thomas, who has often ridden in support of teammates at Sanremo, marvelled at the power Van der Poel displayed on the Poggio, where the Dutchman launched the race-winning move.
"When you ride to the finish with Van der Poel, you often know that you actually have no chance. His explosiveness is so good, he should actually be arrested for it, haha. But he was also incredibly strong in the entire final, and when he attacked Pogacar at the top of the Poggio, you actually already knew enough."
While the race may not have gone his way, Thomas made a point to enjoy his last appearance at the Monument. The Welshman admitted the conditions were less than ideal, but he embraced the moment.
"It was annoying at first, because the weather was bad and it was also quite cold. But I just thought: this is my last time riding here, so I'm just going to enjoy it immensely. And I certainly did, I just enjoy the Italian fans immensely. You just feel that the people on the sidelines love the sport so much, I don't have that during the Tour de France."
Looking ahead to the rest of the spring classics, Thomas believes that Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert could prove tough to beat, even for a rider as good as Tadej Pogacar.
"If you see Van der Poel in this form, and maybe Van Aert is also in very good form, then Pogacar is going to have a very tough time in the upcoming races. The climbs are not long enough, and with the bad weather that could play a role, I see more chances for Van der Poel or Van Aert. But you never know."
Now back in stage race mode, Thomas also commented on the brutal conditions during stage 1 of the Volta a Catalunya, where relentless rain made for a challenging day in the saddle.
"What terrible weather it was," he said. "I think I've rarely suffered so much, it just wouldn't stop raining. Still, I thought it was a beautiful course, but I was very happy when I was back in my hotel room in the evening."
Thomas also took time to praise young British rider Matthew Brennan, who stunned the peloton with a solo victory on stage 1, continuing his remarkable start to the 2025 season.
"It was really very impressive. Matthew had to do so much work on his own in the final kilometres, and the fact that he managed to finish it like that is just really incredibly impressive. When I finished my first Tour, he was only one year old. It's really crazy and I think we're going to hear a lot more from him."
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- My issue is that this site proactively solicits the commentary of one disgraced doper after another. It's like they can't find anyone who didn't leave the sport under a cloud of shame. I think I'm done with this site.critguy26-03-2025
- The finale of this race was an absolute mess, and the last crash that took out 1/2 of the field was caused when a double width road very suddenly funneled into a single lane, and riders had nowhere to go. I find it amazing how some of these courses get approved in the first place. So much for the UCI's campaign for improved rider safety, because if they actually cared, the organizers wouldn't have been allowed to run the finale on this parcours.
santiagobenites26-03-2025 - I hope Wout can come back. He has had 3 terrible crashes--not on par with Froome or Bernal, but at his level just a fraction of a percent is all that separates the grand champions of this new generation. Even if he is back all the way physically, those abrupt confrontations with pavement and mortality take a psychic toll, especially for a father of young kids.
Barney26-03-2025 - Everyone was so keen on free speech for a while, what happened ;-) But seriously, the problem is not so much that he gave his view as that someone follows it and spreads it, not totally unlike the schoolkids running US war games at present ;-)Mistermaumau26-03-2025
- We'll see what happens this year, hopefully he finds himself a little stronger.awp26-03-2025
- awp, the way and races he races, he probably doesn’t feel like he needs that many or specific race days before the Tour. His program isn’t very different from other years.Mistermaumau26-03-2025
- No, he just realises he’s not a one-day racer so why should he force himself?Mistermaumau26-03-2025
- Sacrificing E3 and G-W that were planned seems like he was hedging his options and only decided to do it after not winning MSR. Would he have planned to do all 5 and if so why hold back on announcing P-R if it wasn’t conditional? Guess people will get active with predictions now :-).Mistermaumau26-03-2025
- The MTB World title - there is no such thing. However, there are World titles in XCC, XCO, XCM, XCE, Enduro, Downhill......... He's after the World title in XCO, but could probably win the XCC title too, as his record is still better than anybody else, and he hasn't ridden an XCC World Cup since May 2021. Ten wins from twelve races says it all..... However, the XCO course is Crans-Montana is technical - he will surely need plenty of time back on the MTB, both training, and racing, otherwise it's going to be another doomed ambition.wipperman9526-03-2025
- Sweet. I wonder who's up on the next episode of Disgraced Ex-Doper Offers an Unsolicited Opinion?critguy26-03-2025