"He's bloody strong in his head and a tough character" - Rod Eilingworth compliments Geraint Thomas' inspiring tenacity

Geraint Thomas informed that this season will be his last earlier this week. With Chris Froome also retiring, the 2025 year will make the end of an era that brought Great Britain on the cycling GC map. Thomas himself contributed to this first as a part of Froome's iconic 'Sky Train' and later by winning the 2018 Tour de France himself.

"G has always stayed at a pretty high level, all the way through his career," his first British Cycling coach Rod Eilingworth said to Cycling Weekly. "It was evident from when he was a young kid that mentally, he's really strong, and he's always been very determined. When he wants to do something, he's always got what it takes to put that effort in and and go as far as he needs with that."

Thomas has crashed many times in his career, perhaps a bit too much. But one thing that never ceases to amaze Eilingworth is the Welshman's tenacity. Every time Geraint fell, he would get right back up. If possible.

"I think he's robust in terms of he's had plenty of crashes, but he bounces back, which just shows how strong he is in his head too. I think a lot of people with the accidents that he's had would have perhaps thought, no, I've had enough of this, but he's certainly strong in that sense."

"The one thing I've always said to everybody about Geraint, is that if Geraint is lying on the floor, you know it's bad," Ellingworth added. "That's because that kid doesn't lie on the floor. He gets up, he's bloody strong in his head and a tough character. If he stays down for more than 30 seconds or so after a crash, you know he's in a bad shape. There's no bullshit with Geraint, that's what I've always liked with him, there's no bullshit whatsoever."