Geraint Thomas at the 2015 Tour Down Under

(Image credit: Watson)

GERAINT THOMAS

Date of birth: 25/05/1986

From: Cardiff

Team: Sky

Previous teams: Barloworld (2007-2009)

Geraint Thomas career profile

Geraint Thomas picked up cycling with the Maindy Flyers in Wales; taking the club's newcomers' track record was an inspiration to continue, which he did racing across the country with the club. After winning two national titles as a teenager, Thomas progressed rapidly going on to silver in the points race at the European track championships.

The Welshman joined the British Cycling Olympic Academy in 2005, after impressing many with his 2004 Junior Paris-Roubaix win riding for the South East centre of excellence.

Thomas turned professional on the road with the Barloworld team in 2007, where he rode and finished his first Tour de France. Thomas is a strong road rider but his perhaps an even greater talent on the track, having been part of the gold-medal winning team pursuit squad at both the World Championships and the Olympics in 2008.

After a busy 2008 spent preparing for the Beijing Games, Thomas's attention returned to the road in 2009, where he continued with Barloworld.

At the end of 2009, Thomas took part in the Track World Cup round in Manchester velodrome. The previous week he has clocked a time of 4-18 in the individual pursuit at the track to become national pursuit champion. He bettered that during the qualifying round by posting the fastest pursuit time since the 'superman' position was banned in 1996 - 4-15.015. After winning that gold, Thomas was then part of the victorious GB team pursuit quartet and joined the fledgling Sky outfit soon after.

Thomas had a breakthrough year on the road in 2010 with Team Sky, enjoying a spell in the top ten of the Tour de France and in the white jersey of best young rider after placing second on stage three. Later that year, Thomas lead home a Sky 1-2-3 at the British road race national championships to take the win.

Thomas started 2011 strongly, with a second place in Dwars Door Vlaanderen in the spring and an overall win at Bayern-Rundfahrt in Germany, Thomas's first major stage race overall win.

Switching focus from road to the track ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games, Thomas's efforts were rewarded with team pursuit gold in London.

In 2013, Thomas begun his campaign very strongly with a stage win and third overall at the Tour Down Under, and played an injury-plagued roll in helping Chris Froome to the Tour de France yellow jersey.

Victory in the 2014 edition of Bayern Rundfahrt and the Commonwealth Games road race was followed in 2015 by an overall win in the Volta ao Algarve and his biggest win to date, the E3 Harelbeke.

Geraint Thomas results
2015
Volta ao Algarve; stage two

Volta ao Algarve; overall

E3 Harelbeke

2014
Bayern Rundfahrt; stage four ITT

Bayern Rundfahrt; overall

Commonwealth Games road race

2013
Tour Down Under; stage two

Tour Down Under; sprint classification

2012
Track World Championships; team pursuit

Tour de Romandie; prologue ITT

Olympic champion; team pursuit

2011

Track World Cup, Manchester, team pursuit

Bayern Rundfahrt; overall

Tour of Britain; points classification

European champion, team pursuit

2010
National champion, road race

2009
National champion, individual pursuit

Track World Cup, Manchester, individual pursuit

Track World Cup, Manchester, team pursuit

2008

World champion team pursuit

Olympic champion team pursuit

Gold medal, team pursuit Manchester World Cup

2007
World champion team pursuit

2006
Fleche du Sud; overall

Fleche du Sud; points classification

Fleche du Sud; stage two

European champion team pursuit

2005
British scratch race champion

Related links
Cycling Weekly's Rider Profiles: Index

External links
www.gerainthomas.com - official website

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