Geraint Thomas is happy to see former teammate Wout Poels win a stage: "I don't know if he was bluffing, but Remco didn't look at his best"
Cycling
As a former teammate, Geraint Thomas was not surprised that Wout Poels beat Remco Evenepoel in the sprint of the twentieth stage of the Vuelta a España. The Welshman was, just like Poels and Evenepoel, in a large leading group.
Thomas and Poels rode together for many years for Team Sky, the current INEOS Grenadiers. "The fact that he wins a stage is not surprising," Thomas said at Eurosport. "He was already good at the Tour, and now here. He has been in super form, especially in the last week. He is also fast. I just said: when we were in the same team he would always kick my ass in a sprint. Although that is not very difficult," Thomas jokes. "Wout, however, is certainly fast at the finish."
"It is still a bit surprising that he beats Remco," continues Thomas, who noticed along the way that Evenepoel wasn't at his best. "I don't know if he was bluffing, but Remco didn't look at his best. Although Wout is no longer my teammate these days, it was nice to see him win," Thomas is happy for his former teammate.
"I felt a bit better than previous days, but I also had some setbacks. There is always a chance, so you have to try. However, that last climb was very steep and I didn't feel one hundred percent. I gave it my all. Unfortunately I didn't have it today, but that's how it goes sometimes."
Read also
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 4visitors 4
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
- How can you use a photo post incident to judge the incident itself (which is not hard to find if you’re prepared to invest the same amount of time in searching as writing that comment? It’s harsh but technically right even though this or worse is not always sanctioned in every race. The two things that went against MS (who unfortunately for her would still have won without making her mistake) are that it was not a bunch sprint where there could have been an overlooked incident or mitigating circumstances explaining a deviation. Everything was focused on just those 2, Schreiber was riding beautifully balanced which made her sudden deviation look unnatural stroke as if it could have been in some part intentional whilst she was slowly drifting ever closer towards the barrier to a point that would have reached obstruction level. In her defence, it might have been the realisation she was heading towards that that made her react suddenly and caused the deviation involuntarily. In any case, congratulations to her for the ride of her life, in people’s minds she will be credited for it.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment