Geraint Thomas on the Final Lap with Cheers, Tears and Raffle Prizes for Fans

Geraint Thomas will bow out from professional cycling on Sunday, but not before he has helped raise funds aimed at enabling thousands of children to get on bikes.

Thomas, 38, is departing the scene at this week’s Tour of Britain, which finishes in his hometown of Cardiff. 

He suffered a puncture in Tuesday's opening stage but recovered to finish within the main field of riders.

To commemorate his retirement, the GTCT has unveiled “G’s Final Race Raffle”, offering fans the chance to win high-value prizes donated by Thomas’s long-time supporters and sponsors.

The top prize is a Pinarello F-Series F7 Di2 bike, valued at £7,000. 

Other prizes include two signed pairs of SunGod glasses, a pair of limited-edition QUOC shoes — one of only two pairs ever produced — a signed KASK Elemento helmet in INEOS livery, and a signed INEOS Grenadiers team bundle.

Tickets are priced at £5, with all proceeds going to the Trust. 

Since its creation in 2022, the GTCT has backed 32 community groups and individuals across England and Wales. Its long-term aim is to get 5,000 children cycling by 2028.

Thomas, a Tour de France winner and two-time Olympic champion, established the Trust to expand opportunities for young people to access bikes and grassroots cycling initiatives.

The raffle will run alongside his farewell appearance in the Tour of Britain, giving fans a chance both to support the cause and mark the end of one of Wales’ most successful sporting careers.

Thomas will end his professional days in the saddle on home roads on Sunday, bringing down the curtain on 19 seasons as a pro rider with a farewell appearance in the Tour of Britain.

The six-stage race began in Woodbridge, Suffolk, on Tuesday and will finish on Sunday in Cardiff, where Thomas first discovered cycling at the city’s Maindy velodrome.

“If I didn’t live so close to Maindy or if I didn’t live in Cardiff, I may never have ridden a bike, never have had the career I had, the life I’ve had,” Thomas told the BBC.

READ MORE: Geraint Thomas Bids Farewell to the Tour de France: “It’s a Good Time to Stop”

The 2018 Tour de France winner admits his final outing is charged with symbolism, with the peloton rolling into the city where his Olympic and Grand Tour story began.

“I just feel so lucky to be able to call time on my career on my own terms, when I’m finishing and even more lucky to decide where, as well,” he said.

Thomas is expected to receive an emotional send-off when he crosses the line in a bespoke red jersey decorated with a Welsh dragon, mountain hairpins and a drawing of him on a podium sketched by his son, Macs. 

“Certainly the most meaningful jersey, that’s for sure,” he said on social media. 

“I think it definitely will be emotional come the final stage, finishing in Cardiff, wearing this.”

The finale will close a career that has included Tour de France glory, two Olympic golds, Commonwealth success, and victories at stage races such as the Critérium du Dauphiné and Paris–Nice.

First, though, Thomas must contend with a race route that grows tougher as it approaches Wales. After flatter stages through Suffolk, Bedfordshire and Warwickshire, the course heads into steeper terrain. 

The penultimate stage features two ascents of the notorious Tumble climb above Abergavenny, before the riders tackle Caerphilly Mountain — just 10km from the line — on the last day in Cardiff.

The Tour, directed by Thomas’s former mentor Rod Ellingworth, is featuring a strong field. 

Remco Evenepoel, who won both road race and time trial gold at the Paris Olympics, is on the start list alongside French former world champion Julian Alaphilippe, rising British sprinter Matthew Brennan and Tour de France breakthrough Oscar Onley.

Thomas has made no secret of his anticipation — and the likelihood that his farewell in Cardiff will be marked by tears.
 
After nearly two decades at the top of world cycling, his final stage is set to be a celebration as well as a contest.