Mark Cavendish full of praise for Geraint Thomas after decade and a half racing together - "That's the stuff that makes someone special"
Cycling
Geraint Thomas is a rider most known for his Tour de France victory and results in the Grand Tours. But this was not always his specialty. Early in his career he was a track rider and mostly rouleur on the road, who has taken care of sprinters like Mark Cavendish. The 'Manx Missile' was on the Welshman's podcast and shared a story from 2011 that was never forgotten.
Cavendish was at the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club and shared a story from the 2011 World Championships in Copenhagen where the sprinter won the title and rainbow jersey - that he then wore in 2012, the one year they raced together at Team Sky. But despite only racing that one year together, they've shared a lot through racing in national teams.
"He's a ledge, you know who you are with G, you know what I mean he's led me out for wins, he's led me out for some of my biggest wins [like] the World Championships," Cavendish started.
That year, Cavendish has won two stages at the Giro d'Italia and five at the Tour de France, and arrived at the Worlds as a key favourite in a race that suited the pure sprinters. The leadouts at the time were not as chaotic as nowadays, but still several riders including Cavendish found themselves in trouble in the hard battle for positioning.
"This actually sums it up better than actually if you're in a train going full gas. World Championships Copenhagen 2011 you plan it for years, we get in we ride exactly as we want to ride as a team. We come in the final G (Thomas, ed.) and [Ian] Stannard will lead me out. In the final corner I lost their wheel, we came round the corner, G is top 10..."
He explains that in a World Championships, most leadout men would've decided to chase their own result if that had happened, but this was not the case with Thomas. "Pretty much anybody else they're supposed to be on leadout duty, their sprinter loses their wheel [and] they can see their finish line and Top10 in the last few hundred meters, they're going for a result".
"G swings out and looks out for me, still it's that goal of getting me there you know, that's what you want from a leadout man from a teammate, rather than someone who can just go full gas," Cavendish added. "You can go full gast we've seen that last year but that's the stuff that makes someone special".
Read also
‘He’s a ledge.’
— Geraint Thomas Cycling Club (@GTCyclingClub) December 3, 2024
Welcoming @MarkCavendish to the GTCC 🤝
Full episode available now. pic.twitter.com/AzGRimCf0Z
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- wtf dudemij07-11-2026
- big rival … ridiculous.Ketterechts07-11-2026
- It would be great if the World Champion's jersey could be rotated among McNulty, Simmons, and Jorgenson. They threaded the needle perfectly. If each hadn't done exactly what he did, exactly when he did it, the race would have gone to one of the more heralded superstars. That said, how nice that this humble and hardworking guy gets his moment in the sun.
MarkFour07-11-2026 - This is a really interesting idea, which, if well prepared could even be very successful. Very little money needs to be involved for a first season and any success could lead to rapid interest from sponsors.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Hmmm, you seem to have a very convenient black and white view of things. Perhaps you haven’t been around much to discover how complex problems can become over time with people who know how to control, manipulate (or worse) others so gradually or subtly that you arrive at an irresolvable situation before you realise. This is how many inconveniences get introduced to the young, naïve, passionate or “desperate”, knowing they are not armed, protected or strong enough to defend themselves once it’s too late. Why do you think omerta culture is so widespread, why do you think so many people continue to go through so many awful things in life that others can’t understand anyone getting into? Life may be far more jolly for you but you would do well to understand (or reflect more on) the real world to refrain from being so quick to criticise those in a hard spot that may have genuine reason for speaking out.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Seriously do you think when somebody gets into a serious accident, the ambulance is called by the hurt person?🤦 there is always a buddy system in place for a risky job. police , firefighters etc so that if someone gets hurt, the other call that in.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment