Teenager Josh Tarling blew away the rest of the field to become the British men’s time trial champion as Lizzie Holden claimed the women’s crown at the Croft Circuit near Darlington. Tarling is just 19 but the 6ft 4in tall Welshman towered over his rivals in more ways than one, putting more than a minute into them over the course of 41.1 kilometres as he won in a time of 48 minutes 50 seconds in windy conditions in north Yorkshire.

Geraint Thomas plans to continue elite level cycling for at least two more years. The Welsh rider finished second behind Primoz Roglic as the Giro d’Italia ended with emotional scenes in Rome. Thomas will be out of contract with Ineos Grenadiers at the end of the year but has indicated he wants to continue for a minimum of two more seasons.

Geraint Thomas had suffered some cruel mishaps at the Grio d’Italia over the years bit nothing will feel as bruising as the ride into Rome on Sunday. The Welsh rider saw the pink jersey snatched away on the penultimate day on Saturday as Primoz Roglic overcame a mechanical problem to win a punishing time trial to the summit of Monte Lussari. Roglic dropped his chain midway up the cruel concrete road to the top but still had enough in reserve to beat Thomas by 40 seconds, overturning the 26-second advantage Thomas took into the day.

Geraint Thomas will wear the leader’s pink jersey into Saturday’s decisive mountain time trial at the Giro d’Italia after Primoz Roglic could take only a handful of seconds out of the Welshman’s advantage on the Queen stage in the Dolomites. Thomas and Roglic traded attacks in the final kilometre of this beastly stage but at the very top of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo it was Roglic, who had changed bikes on the approach to the last climb to get better gearing, who was able to open up a three-second gap in the final few metres.

Geraint Thomas will bid to strengthen his grip on the leader’s pink jersey on stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia on Friday. On his 37th birthday, on Thursday, the Welsh superstar was able to follow a late move from Primoz Roglic on the approach to Val di Zoldo as Joao Almeida dropped back, and the two then worked together to keep the Portuguese behind and take 20 seconds out of him, enough to see Roglic move up to second.

Geraint Thomas finished safely to retain the leader’s pink jersey at the Giro d’Italia and revealed he was saving his legs for two tough days to follow in the mountains. Thomas was guided into the finish by Ineos Grenadiers team-mate Ben Swift, staying safe to retain his 18-second advantage over Joao Almeida in the general classification, with Primoz Roglic sat third, 29 seconds down.

Geraint Thomas was edged out by Joao Almeida, who claimed victory on stage 16 of the Giro d’Italia on a summit finish, but it was the Welshman who moved back into the Maglia Rosa leader’s jersey. “It was a very tough day, a lot of climbs,” Thomas said.

Geraint Thomas has no intentions of following Mark Cavendish by riding off into retirement any time soon as he targets Giro d’Italia success and finalising a contract extension at Ineos Grenadiers. Welshman Thomas admits he did not quite believe his friend Cavendish would go through with his plans when he told him in confidence ahead of this year’s Giro.

Geraint Thomas insists he is biding his time and that winning the Giro d’Italia is still firmly in his grasp and that of his team, Ineao Grenadiers. The Welsh rider remains in second place in the overall classification after Sunday’s Stage 15, following his loss of the pink jersey the day before.

Geraint Thomas has admitted he’s in for a long, tough Friday when the Giro d’Italia hits the Alps. The race leader is expecting to be put to the sternest test in the mountains, but has backed his Ineos Grenadiers teammates to enable him to stay in the pink jersey.

Geraint Thomas admitted he has suffered a big loss as he looks to defend his lead at the Giro d’Italia without injured teammate Tao Geoghegan Hart. British rider Geoghegan Hart – an Ineos Grenadiers teammate of Thomas’s – suffered a hip fracture and will need surgery after being involved in a crash during stage 11.

Geraint Thomas insisted he was cold but happy as he retained the leader’s pink jersey after stage 10 of the Giro d’Italia. Race leader Thomas, who finished over 11 minutes behind stage winner Magnus Cort, retained his two-second advantage over Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) in the general classification, with fellow Briton and Ineos Grenadiers team-mate Tao Geoghegan Hart five seconds behind in third.