Yahoo Finance Thomas aims to banish previous Olympic disappointment in Tokyo
Geraint Thomas revealed he is ready to avenge the greatest disappointment of his road cycling career by winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics, writes Josh Graham.
The Welshman won the 2018 Tour de France but crashed ten kilometres from the finish of the 2016 road race in Rio when he looked to be in pole position to claim a medal before eventually having to settle for 11th.
And Thomas is bidding to put that mishap to bed alongside teammates Tao Geoghegan Hart and twins Simon and Adam Yates in Saturday’s race that will take place on an unforgiving 234km course.
“We've got a great opportunity here with four really good chances of a medal as long as we communicate well and race well together then we will be in with a chance,” said Thomas, whose exploits in Tokyo will be broadcast live on Eurosport and discovery+.
“But in the road race, so much can happen. Cav [Mark Cavendish] was a super hot favourite back in London and we all saw what happened there [he finished 29th].
“Rio, I was there in the mix and then unfortunately crashed on the last corner of the descent and that was me out of it and I was right in the mix for the medals.
“Hopefully it’s third time lucky but I never think too far ahead.”
Thomas, who says he is fully recovered from the dislocated shoulder he suffered in this year’s Tour, revealed his Olympic heartbreak five years ago does not keep him up at night but is something he has chalked up as a missed opportunity.
The 35-year-old added: “Yeah it is [the biggest disappointment of my road racing career]. I don’t lose sleep over it but it was there for the taking almost, a great opportunity. But that’s the way it goes.”
Thomas is magnanimous in his thought process, a more than useful trait given the unpredictability of the race, and reveals he listened to the home truths told to him by former Team GB psychiatrist Steve Peters.
“As Steve Peters was always telling me, life’s not fair and you don’t always get what you deserve in that moment,” explained Thomas.
“It was super frustrating and obviously I would love to put that right here on Saturday.
“But there’s so many factors that come into play but we just get out there and do our best as a team.”
Meanwhile Simon Yates is just happy to be on the startline in Japan after crashing out of the Tour de France on Stage 13.
But the former Vuelta a Espana winner warned a one-day race is very different to the Grand Tours.
“As riders on the team we have a really good chance but it's about putting those pieces together,” he said.
“A stage race is different to a one-day race and there are nations that have more experience than us when it comes to winning on a bigger stage in a one-day race, but we'll see how it goes and go from there.
“We have a strong team, and we'll give it a go regardless. We'll do the best that we can.”
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