Where and how Geraint Thomas won the Tour de France

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Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) carries the Welsh flag over his head during the last stage at the Tour de France(Image credit: Getty Images)

After twenty-one stages and over 2,000 miles of racing, Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) was crowned the 2018 Tour de France winner. The Welshman's win was based on four foundations: a flawless opening nine days in which he was the only contender to avoid time losses, an extraordinarily strong Team Sky squad, his ability to pick up bonus seconds, and of course strong legs in the mountains.

Froome occupied second overall from the Alps until the stage to Luchon, at which point his hopes of retaining his Tour title began to fade. Thomas' ascendancy can also be traced to the opening day in which little happened until a spate of falls saw Froome and every other Team Sky rider lose time. Thomas was the sole rider for the British team to make the first group of 63riders. In a race of formulaic consistency, the time gain was substantial, and arguably the day Thomas truly ignited his Tour challenge, with Richie Porte, Adam Yates, and Nairo Quintana all losing significant ground.

This was the first time that Thomas put time into Tom Dumoulin - there would be six similar episodes before the race reached Paris - but this was also the stage in which LottoNL Jumbo lost 1:11 to Team Sky. At the time it was written off as a below-par team performance from the Dutch outfit, with few considering that it would have such a dramatic effect on the final standings. However the time lost here by Roglic altered his chances of making the podium but it also shaped the race in another way, giving him some freedom to attack off the front at places like Mende.

The most significant result was the time Dumoulin lost, with the Dutchman dropping 50 seconds to Thomas after a late mechanical and then being slapped with a 20-second penalty for drafting. Romain Bardet shed 31 seconds but Dumoulin's position was far more critical to the overall complexion of the race. The Giro runner-up slipped to 19th overall, 1:20 down on Thomas and with Vincenzo Nibali Roglic, Froome, Yates, Landa, Porte, and Uran all ahead of him.

Thomas was now in second overall, just three seconds down on Greg Van Avermaet, and ahead of all his GC rivals. At this point, Dumoulin had to consider several tactical battles between himself and other riders before he could look to take on Thomas. With the time trial coming so late in the race, Dumoulin would have to go all out in the Alps. The Welshman, on the other hand, was now in the strongest position possible, and without having to control the race due to BMC's occupation of yellow. Thomas could remain patient, draw his rivals out through the use of his team, and then capitalise as the race entered the Alps.

Only Tom Dumoulin, through a valiant attack before the final climb, and Dan Martin put up a fight, with Bardet, Nibali, and Quintana canceling each other out and looking flat when the final accelerations began. Roglic finished in the Nibali group, once again putting time in on Kruijswijk, while Movistar were left wondering what had gone wrong after Valverde was essentially wasted after both Landa and Quintana lost time.

Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.