Thomas Told He Can Be Tour De France Contender At Sky

Geraint Thomas has been warned he would be crazy to leave Team Sky to chase his dream of a Tour de France victory.

The Welshman underlined his credentials as a future Grand Tour contender with his triumph in the prestigious Paris-Nice race.

Thomas’ contract with Sky runs out this year but Thomas, 29, has been told he can realise his dream at Sky even with reigning Tour champ Chris Froome in their ranks.

British Cycling’s technical director Shane Sutton, 58, said: “It would be crazy for G to go anywhere else and it would crazy for Sky to let him go.

“But that won’t happen with Dave Brailsford and the way he looks after his riders.

“Geraint is in a team that has got one of the great Grand Tour riders in Chris so he is a little bit restricted at this moment in time.

“But I am sure his chance will come.

“Bradley Wiggins was 32 when he won his first Tour so Geraint has got plenty of years left.”

Thomas, the double Olympic Team Pursuit gold medallist, has turned down offers from other teams in the past few years to remain with Sky who he joined when it was set-up in 2010.

And his victory in Paris-Nice after he survived a fierce last day attack from two-time Tour champion Alberto Contador of Spain will not have gone unnoticed by other teams.

But Sutton, the former Wales national coach, insisted: “Geraint will do a Ryan Giggs in this case and he will see his time out at Sky.

“He joined when the team started and he will be there until he’s finished.

“Talk of him going anywhere else is just rumour and we will see him blossom even more into that leadership role he showed at Paris-Nice over the next few years.

“I don’t think time is an issue and he is just about the finished article now given that he has won one of the biggest races of all.”

Thomas races Milan-San Remo Saturday before linking up with Froome next week for the Volta a Catalunya.

And he will be Froome’s support rider again come July when his team-mate bids for a third Yellow Jersey, though he will be Sky’s Plan B and have more of a protected status within the squad.

Sutton said: “Dave Brailsford is a winner, it’s as simple as that. If Geraint shows that he has a chance of winning the Tour then Dave will give him that chance.

“Froome has got to keep performing and he has crashed in the past or been sick, you don’t know and Geraint’s opportunity could arise quicker than he expects .

“He has to be ready to fill that role but he has shown he is capable of that.”
Endig