• André Greipel wins sprint to take opening stage
The Welsh heart was willing, the dragon-flag-waving crowds were willing Geraint Thomas on up the steep final ascent of Belmont, eight kilometres from the finish here, but four weeks of partying since the local hero won the Tour de France had taken their toll. Thomas was perfectly set up by his teammates and put in a searing attack, but when the Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe came flying past, Thomas looked like a man who realised suddenly and painfully that he had bitten off more than he could chew.
“I had to give it a go, being on home roads and so close to where I grew up. I knew the climb but once I went I was thinking: ‘What have I done?’” Thomas said.
Written by William Fotheringham in Newport
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/sep/02/geraint-thomas-tour-of-britain-andre-greipal under the title “Geraint Thomas finds climb near home too steep in Tour of Britain”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
