"One of the best - An inspiration and a great role model" - Adam Blythe pays emotional tribute to 'family man' Geraint Thomas

Starting this week, the pro career of 2018 Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas is officially over, marking the end of an era for the INEOS Grenadiers and British cycling as a whole. One man who knows the Welshman well is former British national champion Adam Blythe, and on TNT Sports, Blythe paid an emotional tribute to his friend.

"He's obviously going to be elated, there will be a lot of emotions going on," Blythe said on TNT Sports shortly after Thomas had crossed the finish line in Cardiff on Sunday, bringing his illustrious career to a close. "Just seeing him here, I think the last time we saw him cry was the Giro; before that was when he won the Tour. They were big moments in his career, and this is one of them as well, closing a chapter in his life now and getting to do it with his teammates."

A winner of the Tour de France in 2018, Thomas has four further Grand Tour podiums on his palmares, alongside Olympic gold medals on the track and notable wins at races such as Paris-Nice, Criterium du Dauphine, Tour de Suisse and E3, making the Welshman one of the most successful riders of his generation.

"Geraint’s career has just been one of the best, and his pathway through the sport as well has been absolutely unbelievable," Blythe says. "From where he started, riding the Tour de France, focusing on the Classics. And then eventually winning the Tour de France, Olympic medals along with that. He's just an inspiration and a great role model for anyone getting involved with sport, he's an amazing man."

Whilst Blythe was keen to focus on the on-bike success of Thomas, his companion in the TNT Sports studio Matt Stephens was more intent on highlighting the person behind the rider.

"It’s 19 seasons as a pro, he’s remained so grounded. I think the reason that he’s so popular and so well-loved - it’s not just the results that he’s garnered over the years, the Olympic success, the Tour de France win - it’s just that he’s one of us, he's an everyman, and he’s so, so relatable," Stephens says of the 39-year-old. "He’s a family man as well, he just gets on with his business, he's a team player, he’s somebody that inspires, he’s a leader."

Regardless of if Thomas stays on at INEOS in a much-rumoured leadership role, Stephens believes the Welsh star will be a big absence in the peloton going for the rest of this season and beyond.

"I’m looking forward to seeing what the next chapter holds, but I'm kind of welling up, I think we're both quite emotional - all of us - because we all know him pretty well and he's going to be missed in the peloton," Stephens adds in conclusion. "We don't see him emotional very often, but there's no praise high enough for that man. He's a lovely, lovely human being and embodies what's beautiful about our sport."