INTERVIEW | "I think tomorrow will hurt me even more" - Geraint Thomas anticipates Tour of Britain emotion

Geraint Thomas is riding the 2025 Tour of Britain, the last race of his long professional career. Ahead of stage 4, he spoke with CyclingUpToDate journalist Kieran Wood about what it meant to end his time in the peloton on home soil, surrounded by friends, family, and fans. In the interview, the 2018 Tour de France champion admitted the emotions were growing stronger with each passing day as he closed this chapter of his life.

“Yeah, for sure. It's so surreal really because the hotel we're in is just a couple of k from our wedding venue,” Thomas said. “To be there with the team and then obviously here now on home roads with all the Welsh band is super special. I'm really lucky to finish here.”

The atmosphere around the race has been unique, with many fans wearing Geraint Thomas masks. He laughed about the sight, while also recognising the support he has received. “Yeah, that's a bit strange when you look out now and there's, well my face is at the back of me. But no, the support I've had has just been amazing throughout my whole career and yeah, I just feel really privileged to finish here now really.”

As for racing goals, Thomas was realistic, saying he only wanted to help his teammates and enjoy the moment. “Oh, I won't be making my mark in terms of results, but I still want to ride well for the guys and help them out as much as I can. It is also about enjoying it. The last two days, I'm ever going to do this now, there's only about 240k left. So yeah, soak it all up and make the most of it. It's almost kind of like when you're a kid and it's sort of like the 23rd, 24th of December, and Christmas is almost there. It feels so long. It feels like it's never going to happen, really, and then suddenly it's on you and you're like, oh Jesus.”

Seeing his family on the roadside brought an extra layer of emotion. “It does feel weird now, especially seeing my wife and son here as well just now this morning. Yeah, I think tomorrow will hurt me even more.” When asked whether he expected to be emotional, he admitted: “I think so when I see my family. At the minute now it's okay but yeah, I don't know, even in Paris when I saw them at the end of the tour, it's like wow. I'm going to have to try and hold it together but I think it won't happen.”

Back in July, Thomas rode the Tour de France for the final time. This was the race where he went from super-domestique, to Welsh cycling legend, and etched his name into the history books forever. Looking back on his career, Thomas was clear about the defining moment.

“Yeah, I think obviously I was lucky enough to have quite a few big moments but obviously the tour was definitely going to stand out, that whole three weeks was just amazing and yeah, to finish those was amazing.”

As for what comes next, he said he would take some time away before deciding on his future. “Oh, just going to enjoy these few days for us but obviously speaking to the team about possibly staying on but I think just we'll take a bit of time away at the minute as well though, just to like, yeah, get away from the cycling world for a couple of weeks and I'm sure once I've done nothing for two weeks I'll be itching to do something again. So yeah, there's plenty of opportunities actually in that corner so I'm looking forward to it.”