“That's the type of challenge I'd be looking for” - Geraint Thomas set for management role after retiring?

Earlier this year, Geraint Thomas confirmed that 2025 will mark his final season in the professional peloton. After nearly two decades at the top of the sport, the 38-year-old will retire not only as a legend of INEOS Grenadiers and British cycling, but as a British sporting icon in his own right.

Thomas made history in 2018 as the first Welshman to win the Tour de France. He is also a two-time Olympic gold medallist on the track, and nearly added a Giro d’Italia title to his glittering palmarès in 2023, narrowly missing out on the maglia rosa on the penultimate day.

Yet, his farewell campaign is far from a quiet victory lap. Thomas is set to ride the Tour de Suisse next month as part of his preparation for what will be his 14th appearance at the Tour de France. His retirement may be in sight, but his competitive fire clearly remains undimmed. And it seems that we still may be seeing plenty of Thomas after all…

As he recently told The Guardian, “I think I've got a lot to offer on performance and going after bike races. There'd be a lot to learn as well, which is also exciting. It all depends on the role I'd end up doing, but that's the type of challenge I'd be looking for."

That future may well keep him in the sport beyond 2025, but for now, all eyes are on his final races. One of the most emotional moments of his swansong season will come in September, when the Tour of Britain finishes in his home city of Cardiff. “It'll be amazing. It will be full circle: finishing my career on the roads in Cardiff. There will be lots of friends and family there. I can't think of a better way to finish.”

His retirement signals a major moment for British cycling, following Mark Cavendish’s farewell at the end of 2024. It remains to be seen whether fellow Tour de France winner Chris Froome will also call time on his career in 2025, but the changing of the guard is already well underway.

For Thomas, the journey has been long, challenging, and immensely rewarding. “Bike racing is all I have ever known. It's certainly been up and down, but you just remember the good times. Even the bad times are character-building, by getting through them, learning from it and growing from it. It makes you stronger for sure,” he says.