"I was just trying to hold his wheel!" - Geraint Thomas and Tadej Pogacar almost upset sprinters with stunning late move on stage 3 of Giro d'Italia

In a thrilling finale to stage 3 at the 2024 Giro d'Italia, the rulebook was almost completely thrown out as one and two on GC, Tadej Pogacar and Geraint Thomas went on the attack, causing chaos for the sprint trains behind.

"It wasn't the plan!" Thomas chuckles in his post-stage interview, after the superstar duo were caught in the final few hundred metres by the peloton as Tim Merlier eventually sprinted to the stage win. "We just wanted to stay well out of trouble and we did that from quite early on, the boys were incredible really, set me up great."

"We were hoping Filippo Ganna and Jhonatan Narvaez would be with me but they lost the wheel a little bit somewhere along the way," the INEOS Grenadiers leader continues. "I saw Honore and then Pogacar go and I was like 'might as well just go' but jeepers man... he was kicking my head in!"

What had looked pre-stage to be your typical day for the sprinters was anything but. Instead the drama continued right to the line, but sadly for Thomas and Pogacar, they couldn't quite hold on for a famous stage win. "I told him I was quite tired, but in a few less words," Thomas says. "I was just trying to hold his wheel. I tried to give a turn but phwoar, it was solid going. I looked back and I was surprised to see such a big gap but I knew they were going to come, especially with how I was feeling. But yeah, bit different."

"It's been a good start," concludes Thomas, who sits second overall in the general classification. "I'm feeling alright. We'll continue to build but yeah, we'll see."