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Under sombre skies, Geraint Thomas raced into Cardiff to a hometown hero’s welcome after a 19-season racing career came to an end at the final stage of the 2025 Tour of Britain.
A groundbreaking career founded in south Wales ended in south Wales, with the 39-year-old Olympic gold medallist and Tour de France winner buoyed by a sea of emotion from fans, well-wishers and old friends.
Thomas, known as “G”, was given a guard of honour by his professional peers on approach to the start line in front of Newport’s Geraint Thomas National Velodrome. By the end of the afternoon, as he rode to his last finish line in central Cardiff, he admitted he was “choking up”.
Thomas said: “When you’re a kid, you always have a dream of being part of the big things. Like going to the Olympics and Grand Tours, but the career and the longevity I definitely didn’t expect. That’s definitely not just down to myself, but my family and this team [Ineos Grenadiers, formerly Team Sky].
“It’s been a massive part of my life and I’ve got some really good friends and mates there. That’s also key to why I’ve had such a long career.”
“G”-fest aside, there was a real race going on, with the Olympic road and time trial champion Remco Evenepoel, winner of the hilltop finish on the Tumble on Saturday, hoping to make up his two-second deficit in the overall standings to the French race leader, Romain Grégoire.
Those hopes were thwarted, though, first by a herd of cows crossing the road on the moorland climb of Myndd Bedwellte, and later by his status as the most marked rider in the peloton, with the 22-year-old Grégoire hanging on to take the overall win and Olav Kooij sprinting to his third stage win of the race.
But, really, the day was about Thomas. In a sport characterised by increasing insularity, he has always encapsulated the air of a club cyclist, selfless teammate, and genial bloke in the pub. Stoic and resilient, there were also some genuine lows during Thomas’s career. With a little more luck, there could have been several more highs.
The summer after winning the yellow jersey in Paris, he finished second in the 2019 Tour de France to his teammate Egan Bernal, after a winter of celebratory excess. As Bernal took the yellow jersey to Paris, Thomas was asked when he’d realised back‑to-back Tour wins might prove beyond him. “Last November, to be honest,” he deadpanned.
In 2023 he led the Giro d’Italia into the final time-trial and was favourite to win but came undone on the climb to Monte Lussari, where Primoz Roglic overhauled the Welshman to win the corsa rosa by only 14 seconds. “That’s life,” Thomas said. “You don’t always get what you deserve. It’s ups and downs, but it’s how you come back from those downs.”
Thomas was distraught but forgot his woes quickly enough to revert to playing the role of loyal friend, offering former British Cycling academy teammate Mark Cavendish an expert lead-out the next afternoon in the Giro’s final stage in Rome.
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“That’s the one thing I’m just as proud of, how I came back from a lot of turmoil,” he said. “It wasn’t that bad, but still, when it’s your life, it feels like the end of the world. But to come back from the downs is just as important as those wins.”
Looking back, Thomas said he felt that he had been “lucky my whole career, really, with how things have panned out”, adding: “Being able to be in my prime for the home Olympics, finishing here, the fact that the Tour of Britain is in September and I can do it as my last race. It’s all aligned.
“It’s strange it’s finishing, because it’s been my life since I was a junior. You’re always thinking of the next race, you’re always working towards something. So not having that tomorrow morning will be strange, but it’s the right time [to stop], for sure.”
After a first skiing holiday this winter, Thomas is expected to step into a management role at Ineos Grenadiers before the 2026 season. He said his new job description, in a role for which he is expected to be mentored by Dave Brailsford, is “pretty much done”.
“As a rider, I have definitely got a lot of knowledge and feel like I can help out the boys, but then there’s also a lot of other stuff behind the scenes that as riders you don’t really see,” Thomas said. “I feel like I’ve got a lot to give.”
