Geraint Thomas lashes out after "idiot" fan almost brought him down on Stage 17 at Tour de France

Sport360 staff 20:18 26/07/2018
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  • Tour de France leader Geraint Thomas lashed out after falling victim to an “idiot” fan who almost brought him down at the end of Wednesday’s 17th stage.

    It was a great day for the Team Sky rider, who extended his lead over his rivals as he powered away in the final few kilometers to claim third place to Saint-Lary-Soulan behind stage winner Nairo Quintana and runner-up Dan Martin.

    But as the Welshman approached the mountaintop finish of the race a man reached out from behind the security barriers to try and grab him.

    Thomas, 32, stayed on his bike to increase his overall lead, pushing teammate Chris Froome down into third place.

    Thomas opened up a 1min 59sec to Dutch rival Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb), with four-time champion Froome at 2:31.

    But Cardiff native admitted his bid could have been ended by an “idiot”.

    Pictures on social media show a bearded man wearing an AG2R-La Mondiale shirt apparently reaching out to grab Thomas. But he said it felt more like a “hit”.

    “I definitely felt it. It didn’t feel like a grab, but like a hit,” Thomas said prior to the start of Stage 18 from Trie-sur-Baise to Pau on Thursday.

    “I was going quite fast past him and it certainly moved me off my line and it was a bit of a shock.

    “I think (he was) a bit of an idiot.”

    Thomas maintained the gap to Dumoulin on Thursday as he finished 31st on the stage, four places behind the Dutchman, but at the same time.

    If he avoids disaster on the way to the Champs Elysees in Paris on Sunday, Thomas will make history as the first Welsh winner of the Tour.

    “We are coming to race our bikes, that’s all we want to do. The whole peloton wants to do it safely. That’s a bit too much,” he added.

    Sky sporting director Nicolas Portal, a former rider with the team, appealed to fans to use common sense.

    “Just try to think about what you are doing,” Portal said. “Would you do that in the streets in a city? No.

    “If he crashed, broke his collarbone, it would have been done and finished just because someone doesn’t like this guy.

    “It’s been three weeks with things happening. It’s like we are almost used to it, and that’s bad.”

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