Paris: Can Geraint Thomas actually do this and pull off a sensational Tour de France victory? This was the question doing the rounds after the Team Sky cyclist won the 11th and 12th stage spread over Wednesday and Thursday to retain the yellow jersey.
The Welshman made history Thursday by claiming yet another stunning stage victory, this time atop Alpe d’Huez, arguably the sport’s most famous climb.
The records are beginning to mount for the Welshman, who increased his lead over Sky teammate Chris Froome to 1 minute 39 seconds as a result of this latest triumph, which was played out against the backdrop of some unsavoury behaviour from the fans lining the route.
In winning Thomas became the first British rider ever to triumph on Alpe d’Huez. He also became the first rider of any nationality to win on Alpe d’Huez while wearing yellow.
Perhaps most incredibly of all, considering Thomas’s reputation is not as a pure climber, he became the first rider in 42 years – since Joop Zoetemelk in 1976 – to win back-to-back summit finishes at a Tour de France.
No wonder Thomas looked so shocked afterwards. “Honestly I’m speechless,” he said Thursday. “Not a chance in hell I thought I was going to win today.” The look of disbelief on his face told the truth of that remark. It told of a man who was genuinely struggling to process what he had just achieved. “It’s unbelievable,” he kept repeating. “I can’t believe it.”