Thomas comes full circle as former Tour winner retires on home streets
FILE PHOTO: Cycling - Tour de France - Stage 15 - Muret to Carcassonne - Muret, France - July 20, 2025 Ineos Grenadiers' Geraint Thomas after crossing the line at stage 15 REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo
CARDIFF : Former Tour de France winner and twice Olympic champion Geraint Thomas brought the curtain down on a glittering 20-year cycling career on Sunday, finishing the Tour of Britain's final stage in his hometown of Cardiff with tears in his eyes.
The 39-year-old Welshman, who conquered cycling's biggest stages from Olympic velodromes to the 2018 Tour de France, had announced earlier in 2025 that this would be his last year in the peloton and could not have scripted a more perfect farewell.
Fittingly, the sixth and final stage began at the velodrome named after Thomas while it also ran within 100 metres of his parents' home, his childhood cycling club Maindy Flyers and - as the Welshman described - the pub where he had his first pint.
As he crossed the finish line in Cardiff, Thomas got visibly emotional as he was congratulated by his teammates.
"I was emotional crossing the line. I was riding through Birch Grove and all the fans, it was just like, almost like choking up riding my bike, which was weird," Thomas said.
"It's definitely emotional, super special though. I've been saying since the route was announced, that to finish here, it's just unbelievable.
"And the fans, it's just like the support I've had over the years, it's incredible. So to finish here, it's like full circle, right past Maindy ... where it all started. There's no better way."
Thomas received a guard of honour before the stage began in Newport, with fellow riders propping up their cycles amid applause from fans who braved wet weather to witness their Welsh hero's final ride.
His remarkable transformation from a rider who finished his first Tour de France in penultimate position to proudly wearing the yellow jersey on the Champs-Elysees 11 years later exemplified his extraordinary journey.
Thomas helped his team, previously known as Team Sky, claim seven Tours de France.
He supported Chris Froome's four victories and Bradley Wiggins' triumph before claiming his own slice of history as the first Welshman to win cycling's greatest prize and coming second to Egan Bernal the following year when they became Team INEOS.
With no more training or racing on the horizon, Thomas said he wanted to "switch off for a bit" and spend time with his family.
"I'll go back, go take this lad (his son) to school on Tuesday, so back to normality," he said. "Really do stuff that I don't really ever get to do, so it'll be nice."
France's Romain Gregoire (Groupama-FDJ) won the general classification after finishing 13th on the final stage.
The 22-year-old had begun the last day with a two-second lead over Olympic road race champion Remco Evenepoel who could only finish 24th in a stage won in a sprint finish by Olav Kooij of the Netherlands.
