Geraint Thomas will "take my chance" at Tour de France, after surprising win at Tour de Suisse

Geraint Thomas entered the Tour de Suisse with the expected role of support for Daniel Martínez and Adam Yates, however has taken the top step at the end of the race. The 36-year old has shown to still have the legs to compete with the best in the world, and has been declared as a third card for INEOS Grenadiers this coming month at the Tour de France.

“To be honest, I’m a bit disappointed I didn’t win the stage... It would have been nice to have gone for that. But I can’t be too greedy. It’s nice to win the overall," Thomas told reporters in Vaduz. However, having came out of the race with the overall win was a surprise, with a performance resembling of his prime year, where he's taken advantage of his consistency and time-trialing skills to deliver a deadly blow on the final day of the race after staying in touch with Sergio Higuita in the mountains.

Over the week he's been built up as a new Tour contender, and by the end of the race he's climbed up the list quite a lot. He will be racing his 12th Tour de France, and explains his ambitions: “I’m easy. I just want to go there, race hard and do what I can. We’ve got two other leaders in the team. Whether I stay up on GC for a while to play another card or go for stages or help other guys – whatever, I’m happy do whatever."

"I’ll take my chance, for sure, if it comes. And I’ll help the boys if I have to," he pointed out. With Adam Yates abandoning the race with Covid-19 and Daniel Martínez showing an unusually modest performance, Thomas has without a doubt taken the biggest pre-race stance within the team. But he aknowledges that INEOS have to play with their depth. “I think as a team we can, for sure. Man versus man is definitely a different story. They’re super talented and as we all know, they’ve been the MVPs of the couple of years," he added.

However, INEOS are like last year heading to the Tour with a team capable of contesting the higher spots and will go in ambitious. "But I think we’ve got a strong team. It’s just about staying healthy now, which is easier said than done these days. But we’ve got a strong team, we’re all motivated, and we’re all going to go there and give it our best," he concluded.