"I felt pretty good today and I was in control" - Geraint Thomas increases lead at the Giro d'Italia and survives Roglic pressure

The general classification battle at the Giro d'Italia has been a long time coming, but over the past few days, the excitement has finally come. With Primoz Roglic putting on the pressure on stage 18, only Geraint Thomas was able to stay in contact.

"It was a good day. I lost no time today and I was not dropped by Primoz Roglic," said the INEOS Grenadiers leader post-stage who increased his overall lead of the race on his 37th birthday. "I felt pretty good today and I was in control. Roglic likes tempo changes. He was very strong, but I'm also happy with how I did."

With Joao Almeida losing time, Thomas now holds a lead of 29 seconds over Roglic who has risen to second with Almeida now third at 39 seconds behind. All in all a pretty successful birthday for the Welshman who is looking to become the oldest Giro d'Italia winner of all time.

“This is good, but I have to be consistent. Previously Roglic had a lesser day, now it was Almeida," Thomas recaps. "I take it day by day, climb by climb.”