"I never thought that when I first lined up for it back in 2007, I’d still be going" - Geraint Thomas officially confirmed for one last Tour de France

For the final time in his illustrious career, Geraint Thomas will start the Tour de France in 2025. Although long expected that the Welshman would make one last swansong in the French Grand Tour this year, official confirmation has now arrived at last.

As part of a strong and versatile INEOS Grenadiers lineup that also includes the likes of Carlos Rodriguez and Filippo Ganna, Thomas can now ready himself for the start of his last Tour de France on the 5th of July. “I’m really looking forward to my final Tour de France. It’ll be my 14th, which sounds mad, I never thought that when I first lined up for it back in 2007, I’d still be going," reflects the 39-year-old in a pre-race press release posted to his team's official website.

Thomas famously took the biggest win of his career at the Tour de France in 2018, denying Tom Dumoulin to claim the Maillot Jaune and played a key role in many of Chris Froome's Tour triumphs in the 2010s. With a total of three Tour de France stages and a further two podium finishes at the biggest race on the planet, Thomas has written his own chapter in the race's storied history. "I’ve certainly had my ups and downs but it’s an amazing race; the biggest and best in the world, and my favourite," he says.

“It’s never straightforward and always super-hard, but this year my approach will be as it always is - to give everything out on the road for the team to be as successful as possible. We’ll all have important roles to play and I will definitely be playing mine," concludes Thomas. “I just can’t wait to get to Lille and into the spirit of what’s always a rollercoaster of an event. A three-week all-inclusive bike holiday around France, what’s not to like?!”