🦺 Safe passage through stage 16 at #TDF2024 Some good teamwork saw the Grenadiers navigate the tricky finale. Tomorrow? Back to the ⛰️!
Geraint Thomas on Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard's Plateau de Beille performance: "I've heard the numbers. It's just bonkers"
CyclingThursday, 18 July 2024 at 11:37
Stage 15 of the Tour de France has seen climbing performances unlike any other in the history of the sport. After 200 kilometers and almost 5000 meters of climbing, Tadej Pogacar climbed Plateau de Beille at almost 7W/Kg and over three and a half minutes faster than Marco Pantani's previous record of 1998. He, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel have done career-best performances in this ascent, which has blown Geraint Thomas.
The Welshman has tested positive for Covid-19 a few days ago, and has since been in the back of the peloton trying to recover and improve as fast as possible. "They (the last days, ed.) were ok. I was expecting them to be worse, but I was able to choose when to get dropped really and get to the points where I had to in order to survive as best as possible," Thomas told Cyclingnews at the start of stage 16. "But it's hard on the head because I didn't come here just to survive. I wanted to at least race on the front, do my bit for Carlos [Rodríguez] and try to go for a stage. It's been tough going but I'm still in it, so I'll see what the next week holds."
One thing is for sure, INEOS will not risk having Thomas work for Rodríguez whilst Thomas is symptomatic, so as to not risk infecting the leader they have been working for for weeks. Thomas entered the Tour with some good form but hasn't been able to improve on it. He is far from the level he reached at the Giro d'Italia where he finished on the podium, but even his best performance there would be nowhere within reach of what the main favourites have done this Sunday.
"I didn't actually watch the highlights, but I've heard the numbers. It's just bonkers, really," Thomas said of the power output estimates that according to Jonas Vingegaard, were very accurate. "But what can you say, really? It's just unbelievable. The team he has around him as well…. Obviously, Jonas isn't 100% but it's going to be an exciting final week. It's unbelievable what he's done this weekend. Fair play to them."
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