MONDAY, JULY 30, 2018 18 Thomas seals maiden title • Welshman secures Stage 21 title in another win Sunday July 29 116 km for Team Sky 1 A. Kristoff 2h46:36 Alexander Kristoff (NOR/UAE Emirates) • 2 J. Degenkolb at 0:00 wins final sprint on (GER/Trek-Segafredo) Champs Elysees 3 A. Demare at 0:00 (FRA/Groupama-FDJ) Reuters | 4 E. Boasson Hagen at 0:00 (NOR/Dimension Data) eraint Thomas tightened 5 C. Laporte at 0:00 Team Sky’s grip on the (FRA/Cofidis) GTour de France when GENERAL he handed the British outfit their sixth title in seven years 1 G. Thomas 83h17:13 on Sunday and there is no sign (GBR/Sky) that their domination will end 2 T. Dumoulin at 1:51 anytime soon. (NED/Sunweb) Thomas produced a near flaw- 3 C. Froome at 2:24 less performance to become the (GBR/Sky) third British and Team Sky rider 4 P. Roglic at 3:22 to triumph after Bradley Wig- (SLO/Lotto-Jumbo) gins (2012) and 5 S. Kruijswijk at 6:08 (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017). (NED/Lotto-Jumbo) Dutchman fin- POINTS ished second for Team Sunweb after also taking the runner-up 1 P. Sagan 477 pts spot in the Giro d’Italia won by (SVK/Bora-Hansgrohe) Froome, who ended up third MOUNTAIN overall. cycles past the Arc de Triomphe on his first lap of the Paris circuit Norway’s Alexander Krist- 1 J. Alaphilippe 170 pts off won the final stage after lit in yellow to honour Thomas’s (FRA/Quick-Step) 116km from Houilles to the triumph on Sunday. Source: letour.fr Champs-Elysees, largely a long procession during which Thom- Absolute strongest as enjoyed some champagne be- Only in the final time trial did fore heading to the finishing line he lose time on Dumoulin and in a bunch sprint. Froome, but he had already vir- “When I rode it for the first tually wrapped up the title in the When I rode it for the time in 2007 that was insane... mountains. first time, 2007, that just to finish the race and to be “Thomas was the absolute part of it,” said Thomas. strongest over the last three was insane, just to “Now to be riding round (the weeks,” said Dumoulin. finish the race and Champs Elysees) and winning “He didn’t make any mistakes, just to be part of it. it, you’ve got to pinch yourself. he was never put into trouble by And now to be riding It won’t really sink in probably anyone –- including me –- in the around winning it, for a few months. Right now it’s mountains or in any stage.” you’ve got to pinch like a whirlwind. I seem to be “The strongest rider won the yourself. I think it floating around on cloud nine.” ,” Froome said. Froome’s failure to beat “It was clear once we hit the won’t sink in for a few Thomas also showed how diffi- Alps, Geraint was in better con- months. For now it’s a cult it is to complete a Giro-Tour dition than I was.” whirlwind. I just seem double, with Thomas’s victory will come to be floating around, being the last man to achieve as a relief for Sky, especially in on cloud nine the feat in 1998 during the dop- the wake of Froome’s popularity Geraint Thomas celebrates with Chris Froome after winning the Tour de France GERAINT THOMAS ing-tainted era. nose-diving in France after he Thomas, who won two moun- was cleared of a doping offence tain stages — including one on months after testing positive for jeers, with one spectator even riders was ‘a French thing’, both 21-year-old Egan Bernal, who record-equalling sixth green the top of the iconic Alpe d’Huez excessive levels of an asthma slapping his shoulder in the Froome and Thomas kept their produced some amazing work in jersey for the points classifica- — emerged as the strongest man drug. climb up to l’Alpe d’Huez. composure. the mountains for his leaders on tion and France’s in the race as he gained ground Froome and other Team Sky They focused on bike racing, his Tour debut, would probably emerged as a possible podium on his two rivals after taking riders, including Thomas, were Composure making no mistakes and being soon win the three-week race. finisher in the near future by the yellow jersey at the end of booed by the crowd on the side While team principal Dave well protected by the strongest Sky’s domination left the oth- winning the white jersey for the stage 11. of the road. The four-time cham- Brailsford hit out at the locals, team in the field. ers picking up crumbs. best under-25 rider. The Cardiff City Hall had been pion was the main target of the saying booing and hitting the Pundits agreed that the Frenchman Julian Al - It was, however, a disappoint- aphilippe, a one-day classic ing race for France as Romain specialist, confirmed his huge Bardet showed his limits when potential by winning two stages he ended up sixth overall after and taking the polka dot jersey two podium finishes in 2016 and for the mountains classification. 2017. World champion Peter Sagan No Frenchman has won the ground through the last days race since took after a heavy crash to secure a his fifth title in 1985.

Norway’s Alexander Kristoff (R) celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the French national air display team Patrouille de France fly over the peloton as the final stage comes to a close 21st and last stage of the 105th edition of the Tour de France