"Pogacar is one-of-a-kind. I think he’s the best of them all" - Geraint Thomas compares cycling's elite new guard
Cycling
Now aged 37, Geraint Thomas can be considered one of the peloton's elder statesman. Having been in and around the biggest races for over 15 years though, he's seen a lot of development and change within the men competing for Grand Tour success.
The supposed new guard of cycling are the likes of Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel and whilst Thomas has shown he can still compete with these, finishing third at the 2022 Tour de France and second at the Giro d'Italia earlier this year, the Welshman is in awe of their qualities. “Froomy (Chris Froome ed.) was also a special guy. But Pogacar is one-of-a-kind. I think he’s the best of them all because he’s so diverse," says Thomas, lauding praise on the Slovenian in conversation with The Guardian.
But why does Pogacar stand out to Thomas, compared to two-time, back-to-back Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard and former Vuelta a Espana winner and two-time Rainbow Jersey wearer Remco Evenepoel. "He can do it all, from one-day racing to the Grand Tours," Thomas explains. "All three are outstanding and it’s a privilege to be racing with them and competing against them to an extent.”
Having recently signed a two-year contract extension with the INEOS Grenadiers, Thomas is showing no signs of letting up. “In one of my first pro races I was riding with Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich," he recalls. "I went on to race Fabian Cancellara in the Classics and Alberto Contador and Vincenzo Nibali in the Grand Tours. I’ve raced with some big guys.”
Nevertheless, he realises he's fighting a losing battle in an attempt to continually compete against the next generation. "I have periods where I go 100% but then I have time where I completely switch off, I don’t even think of cycling and I eat and drink whatever," he concludes. "They have a different mentality now. They’re constantly thinking about biking. You can’t do that for 20 years as it’s pretty intense. They’re going to have shorter careers while I am happy to keep going a little while longer.”
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling forRafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
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The show goes on 👌 That's right, you've got me for another two years 🤣 @INEOSGrenadiers has always been my second home and I'm still loving racing my bike so I never thought about doing anything else. Now to decide what to race next season... 👀
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