'It's just so surreal' - Geraint Thomas bows out on home roads at Tour of Britain

The Tour of Britain has doubled as a farewell tour for Geraint Thomas, and the Welshman faces the final curtain on home roads on Sunday afternoon. His final act as a professional rider will be to climb Caerphilly Mountain and then descend into his native Cardiff. 

“It’s so surreal because I’ve done that ride so many times, you know, straight down and within 100 metres of my parents’ house,” Thomas said in a press conference in Newport on Sunday morning. “It’s an unbelievable way to finish.”

Thomas already knows that he won’t sign off on his pro career with a victory, but that will allow him to soak up the atmosphere on Caerphilly Mountain and along the streets of Cardiff.

“The legs aren’t exactly sparkling with form and I’ve a bit of an earlier job to do,” he said. “Like yesterday, I’ll do my job and then I’ll get to enjoy the ride up Caerphilly Mountain. I think it’s going to be a great atmosphere up there. It always is.”

There was already a private tribute to Thomas during the team briefing aboard the Ineos Grenadiers team bus on Sunday morning, and he will be feted in a more public ceremony in Cardiff Castle after the finish.

“It’s kind of strange. We watched a little montage on the bus now, and I could feel myself already starting to choke up a bit,” said Thomas. “It’s just so surreal. Like on most stages this week, I've kind of forgotten that I have to do a bike race because it’s almost like a celebration before the start, but then you get going and think ‘Oh geez, I’ve actually got a bit of racing to do now. But it’s definitely going to be emotional coming into Cardiff.”

Thomas’ lengthy career had different phases. On the track, he won gold in the team pursuit at the Beijing and London Olympics. On the road, he was part of the inaugural Team Sky roster and initially shone as a Classics rider, winning E3 Harelbeke in 2015 and going close at Gent-Wevelgem.

The Welshman would eventually morph into a Grand Tour winner after serving as a super domestique on behalf of Chris Froome. He won the Tour de France in 2018, and he would finish on the podium again in 2019 and 2022. He lost the 2023 Giro d’Italia on the final weekend at Monte Lussari, but he returned the following year to claim another podium place.

“Honestly, I don’t think there really is much I’d change, because you learn a lot from the lows and you get stronger from them,” said Thomas. “Coming back injuries and things, I feel like it makes you more mentally strong and more robust.”

Thomas cited missing out on the Giro and crashing out of the Rio 2016 Olympics road race as the closest things to regrets in his career, but he was typically phlegmatic about the disappointment. “Highs and lows, isn’t it? That's life,” he said. “You don't always get what you deserve.”

Thomas’ retirement marks the end of an era for British cycling, given that Lizzie Deignan and, perhaps, Chris Froome are also bowing out from competition in 2025, while Mark Cavendish hung up his wheels last year.

“I guess it all has to come to an end at some point, you know,” Thomas said. “I think I’m one of the last guys from my era, so it is an end of that sort of generation. But it’s definitely not the end – British Cycling is still super strong with Cat Ferguson and Matthew Brennan and Oscar Onley and these guys.”

Thomas is expected to take up a position in Ineos’ management structure in 2026, though the precise details of his role have not yet been made public.

“That’s on the cards. It’s not definitely happening at the moment, but I’d love to continue with the team,” Thomas said.

“I’m obviously talking to the team about it. The job description, so to speak, is pretty much done, and it would be a bit of a new role. It will be about finding my feet with that, how that works really and just learning because as a rider, I’ve definitely got a lot of knowledge, and I feel like I can help out the boys a lot. But then also there's a lot of other stuff behind the scenes that as riders you don’t really see.”