"Sometimes we are like clowns in a circus" - Geraint Thomas tears down Giro d'Italia over dangerous finale
Cycling
Geraint Thomas has no problem in voicing his opinions, and often this is about problems within pro cycling. One key issue is rider safety, and the leader of INEOS Grenadiers was very upset after what he considered a dangerous finale on a day where he crashed.
“We talk a lot about safety these days, but this really wasn't safe. Sometimes we are like clowns in a circus. You heard chains jumping off bikes all the time," Thomas said in an interview with Eurosport. "That's not nice. It's quite scary when riders are constantly coming under to pass you. There were also a lot of holes in the road. I'm glad I made it through the ride unscathed. It was really chaotic in the final, but the boys managed to protect me well again today. This way I almost always rode in a good position.”
Thomas did fall with 58 kilometers to go, but largely without consequences. In the finale INEOS was close to winning with Jhonatan Narváez but Thomas was focused in preserving his third place. He did so successfully but that wasn't without a lot of tension in a finale that was rather technical and according to him, in bad road conditions.
It is safe to say that these 9 days of racing were quite hard and tense and Thomas is honest when it comes to his opinion on today's rest day: “I'm glad that I don't have to see anyone from the peloton for a while. I'm a grumpy old man now. Yes, I'm looking forward to the rest day.”
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- 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 for
Rafionain-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
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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“We’ve just got to keep doing the right things, race hard and stick to the plan.” 🗣️@GeraintThomas86 assesses the first week of the #Giro 🇮🇹
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