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Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome to ride the Tour of Britain

Both riders looking forward to a great atmosphere on the roads

This year’s Tour de France winner, Geraint Thomas, will ride the Tour of Britain alongside last year’s Tour de France winner, Chris Froome. Thomas finished seventh in the Tour of Britain last year, in what was his first appearance since 2011, but Froome hasn’t appeared in the race since 2009.

Thomas said: "As soon as I'd finished the Tour I knew I wanted to ride the Tour of Britain and race on home roads. It starts in Wales which will be special, and then I get to go and race across the whole of the UK. I can't wait.

"I want to go to the race in the shape to compete and enjoy it. We'll have to see how the next few weeks go but I'm looking forward to it and I know we will have a strong team there."

Thomas renounced his normal strict diet while celebrating his Tour de France win, but speaking in Cardiff last week, he said he was keen to maintain decent fitness for the World Championships in September.

"I'd still quite like to try and have some sort of form by the end of the year but I don't know about winning them.

"I think I'd have to be sort of Tour de France weight and form. I think it's easier to get the form. The weight now, it's a bit of a write-off to be honest after the last 10 days. It takes a lot of hard work, that's the hardest part for me.”

Having already won the Giro d’Italia and finished third in the Tour de France, Froome will understandably skip the third Grand Tour of the year, the Vuelta a Espana, which he won last year.

He said: “It’s been a long time since I’ve raced the Tour of Britain. The Vuelta a Espana has always been such a big goal and sadly coincided with the Tour of Britain, but not doing La Vuelta this year gives me the chance to come back to the UK and race on what looks like a great parcours.

“I’m really looking forward to riding. I always remember there being a great atmosphere at the Tour of Britain and the race has only got bigger over the years. I’m really looking forward to coming back.”

The race begins at Pembrey Country Park, Carmarthenshire, on Sunday September 2.

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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39 comments

Avatar
Batchy | 5 years ago
2 likes

Why don't they just combine it with the best race in Britain and ride round Yorkshire for 12 days ? !

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turboprannet replied to Batchy | 5 years ago
0 likes
Batchy wrote:

Why don't they just combine it with the best race in Britain and ride round Yorkshire for 12 days ? !

 29

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don simon fbpe replied to Batchy | 5 years ago
1 like

Batchy wrote:

Why don't they just combine it with the best race in Britain and ride round Yorkshire for 12 days ? !

Wasn't that a Monty Python sketch?

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brooksby | 5 years ago
1 like

Does anyone know when Stage 3 (Bristol) starts, and can anyone recommend good viewing places (suddenly discovered I have a day off that day, and Bristol is my nearest city yes )

(swerving hard to avoid the England/Scotland hatefest upthread)

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CXR94Di2 | 5 years ago
0 likes

Who gives a monkeys if it goes to Scotland or not, other than cycling fans. My experience is most Scots always support any other nation against the English. So if we go on this Geraint is from Wales and Chris (for arguments sake)Kenya

We all know in England they are both British  1

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Sniffer replied to CXR94Di2 | 5 years ago
0 likes

CXR94Di2 wrote:

Who gives a monkeys if it goes to Scotland or not, other than cycling fans. My experience is most Scots always support any other nation against the English. So if we go on this Geraint is from Wales and Chris (for arguments sake)Kenya We all know in England they are both British  1

Wasn't aware that there were any riders in the ToB riding for a particular country.

At the European Road Race on Sunday in Glasgow there was plenty of support for English and Welsh riders riding for GB.

I recognise that the ToB can't come to Scotland every year and the Scots get a share of the pie across a longer period.

 

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Chris Hayes | 5 years ago
1 like

Amazing, two Grand-Tour winners on the ToB.  I hope the crowds turn out and given them the respect their acheivements warrant.  Reallly, who would have thought this possible when it re-started a decade or so ago.  I can remember being in a rainy car-park in Matlock being amazed that Paolo Savoldelli was just a few metres away, quietly getting ready to ride ...  

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Pitbull Steelers | 5 years ago
0 likes

Last year it was great with no "borefest" of loops of london, shame its had to go back. I'll be heading over to Cumbria for the cracking stage there. 

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don simon fbpe | 5 years ago
0 likes

Meh! I'll be watching La Vuelta.

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Organon | 5 years ago
4 likes

It's the United Kingdom (singular) of Great Britain and Northern Ireland [geographical terms.] Scotland is not a current Kingdom. It is a quasi-autonimous region within the state of the UK. The word 'country' is ambigious, as in the Basque country or the Black country. The Tour of (Great) Britain does not specify which parts of the island it will visit, there is no error in nomenclature if the organisers miss out Scotland.

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fukawitribe | 5 years ago
0 likes

dup

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hawkinspeter replied to fukawitribe | 5 years ago
3 likes

fukawitribe wrote:

dup

No, they're a political party in Northern Ireland which is in the UK, but not part of Britain.

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fukawitribe | 5 years ago
0 likes

He said "Technically its the Tour of England and Wales" (emphasis mine) which is incorrect. It is the "Tour of Britain" (title) which this year happens to go to Wales and England. It is also tour of parts of England and Wales.

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vonhelmet | 5 years ago
0 likes

So it’s in the UK then? I’m glad we agree.

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hawkinspeter replied to vonhelmet | 5 years ago
0 likes

vonhelmet wrote:

So it’s in the UK then? I’m glad we agree.

Yep. It's also in Great Britain, so there's something fishy going on.

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vonhelmet | 5 years ago
0 likes

It’s up to local areas to pay for the tour to come to them. Clearly no one, or not enough people, in Scotland wanted to pay. Go figure.

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exilegareth replied to vonhelmet | 5 years ago
0 likes

vonhelmet wrote:

It’s up to local areas to pay for the tour to come to them. Clearly no one, or not enough people, in Scotland wanted to pay. Go figure.

Thank god for some common sense in these comments

 

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CygnusX1 replied to exilegareth | 5 years ago
1 like

exilegareth wrote:

Thank god for some common sense in these comments

It won't catch on.  I blame the SNP (Squirrels' Nuts Party).

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hawkinspeter replied to CygnusX1 | 5 years ago
4 likes

CygnusX1 wrote:

exilegareth wrote:

Thank god for some common sense in these comments

It won't catch on.  I blame the SNP (Squirrels' Nuts Party).

Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.

 

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Gary Macaulay | 5 years ago
1 like

 

 

 

it would be nice if it could hit more than 2 countries,  

he did say " the whole of the UK "

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vonhelmet | 5 years ago
0 likes

Boo, the route is nowhere near me this year.

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Organon | 5 years ago
0 likes

I do wonder just what percentage of his life Chris Froome has actually spent on this island?

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vonhelmet replied to Organon | 5 years ago
4 likes

Organon wrote:

I do wonder just what percentage of his life Chris Froome has actually spent on this island?

Who cares? Nationality in sport is basically nonsense.

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peted76 replied to Organon | 5 years ago
5 likes

Organon wrote:

I do wonder just what percentage of his life Chris Froome has actually spent on this island?

Probably not an awful lot, however his parents from Gloucestershire.. brothers lived in UK growing up.. and his wife is from Neath.

I'll take him as British.

 

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I am a human replied to peted76 | 5 years ago
9 likes

peted76 wrote:

Organon wrote:

I do wonder just what percentage of his life Chris Froome has actually spent on this island?

Probably not an awful lot, however his parents from Gloucestershire.. brothers lived in UK growing up.. and his wife is from Neath.

I'll take him as British.

 

For me the most damning evidence against Froome being British is that he has his brakes set up left - front / right - rear.  Absolute scandal.

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Chris Hayes replied to I am a human | 5 years ago
1 like

[/quote]

For me the most damning evidence against Froome being British is that he has his brakes set up left - front / right - rear.  Absolute scandal.

[/quote]

Interesting - a new Tebbit-test! 

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dreamlx10 | 5 years ago
3 likes

Technically its the Tour of England and Wales

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Danger Dicko replied to dreamlx10 | 5 years ago
6 likes

dreamlx10 wrote:

Technically its the Tour of England and Wales

It's an 8 day race, you can't expect it to hit every UK county in that time.

F*** me, a 21 day race in Italy, France or Spain won't visit every region/province in those countries.

Some people are never satisfied.

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joules1975 replied to Danger Dicko | 5 years ago
4 likes

Danger Dicko wrote:

dreamlx10 wrote:

Technically its the Tour of England and Wales

It's an 8 day race, you can't expect it to hit every UK county in that time.

F*** me, a 21 day race in Italy, France or Spain won't visit every region/province in those countries.

Some people are never satisfied.

Yeah, add in that it's been to Scotland (albiet only the southern part, admittidly) in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 (so that's 7 times out of the last 8 editions), and deamlx's comment looks rather stupid.

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Dnnnnnn replied to joules1975 | 5 years ago
6 likes

joules1975 wrote:

Danger Dicko wrote:

dreamlx10 wrote:

Technically its the Tour of England and Wales

It's an 8 day race, you can't expect it to hit every UK county in that time.

F*** me, a 21 day race in Italy, France or Spain won't visit every region/province in those countries.

Some people are never satisfied.

Yeah, add in that it's been to Scotland (albiet only the southern part, admittidly) in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 (so that's 7 times out of the last 8 editions), and deamlx's comment looks rather stupid.

I don't think so - I think as a point of principle it should visit each of the three countries each time.

It's fine to disagree, and you have a point - but I don't think it makes deamlx's comment "stupid".

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