"To be honest: Roglic really deserves it" - Geraint Thomas classy in defeat at the Giro d'Italia
Cycling
Although he must have been utterly heartbroken, Geraint Thomas was incredibly classy in defeat after losing the Maglia Rosa on the penultimate stage of the Giro d'Italia following a truly special ride by Primoz Roglic.
“I had okay legs until halfway up the climb. I don't want to make excuses, but the setup of the time trial bike is different. I didn't feel like I could really push through," the Welshman told Adam Blythe of Eurosport immediately following the end of the stage. "In a way, it's nice to lose with this difference. With a second or so it would have been worse. At least he really beat me up. To be honest: Roglic really deserves it. He was unlucky with a mechanical and still takes forty seconds on me. Chapeau to him."
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Thomas was looking to become the oldest rider to ever win the Giro d'Italia and although that ultimately wasn't the case, a second-placed finish at the age of 37, cements his place as one of the best riders of his generation.
“If you had said this to me in February or March, I wouldn't have believed you. Now I'm devastated," he admits. "I can be very proud of the season I've had. Also on the boys. They have worked so hard. I also want to thank everyone at home and everyone who came here. Even the Italian fans were great.”
Still smiling and cracking a joke, 'G' as he is known, finished the interview with a reference to his namesake Derek Gee, a perennial runner-up at this year's Giro d'Italia. “What is it with the G's in this race anyway? They are always second,” he laughs before shutting down any speculation of a Tour de France appearance. "It's over for me now. I'll be on the piss for the next two months."
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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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- 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
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He battled hard right down to the very last pedal stroke. We couldn't be prouder of @GeraintThomas86 and the #Giro he has ridden with this team. G sets the second fastest time and slips to second place overall after the stage 20 time trial.
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