The last day in the Pyrenees for the Tour de France 2019 was another challenging journey for Geraint Thomas.
Attacks from Thibaut Pinot caused cuts in the favourites’ group but Thomas seemed to have better legs than the day before, helping distance Julian Alaphilippe and avoiding to lose too much time.
Team Ineos now have Thomas in second overall, 1’35” down on Alaphilippe, and Egan Bernal in fifth at 2’02”.
“Pinot really had pace and then he attacked and I felt really good,” Egan Bernal said. “On the second to last climb, Geraint told me I could do my own race so I was trying to follow Pinot and just stay on his wheel, because Geraint was behind. I think that was a good moment for us.
“But at the final Pinot was the strongest and you can’t do too much when a guy is stronger than you. I think we did a really good race, we tried to not lose too much time and we have a rest day tomorrow and then the Alps so a lot of racing to come,”
“I think that we don’t have one real leader. I think that he is more of a leader than me and at this moment, he’s second in the GC, he won the last Tour but we are really honest between us. Like today and yesterday, he told me to ride my own race. But if there is a moment where I need to wait for him then for sure I will wait because I have a lot of respect for him, he’s the last winner so no problem.”
“I prefer to not think about winning the Tour because that’s a really big thing. I just try to do my best and try to help the team. To win the Tour is something really big but I prefer to go day by day, I did my best today and then tomorrow again. To win the Tour is something really big.
“I don’t know [if Pinot will be as strong in the Alps]. I think that we will arrive in the Alps with a lot of kilometres and a really hard race so I think it will be different and also really hard, too. We need to see, I can’t imagine how he will be.”
