Tour de France 2022: Geraint Thomas reveals Ineos Grenadiers lacked ‘belief’ in him before Tour

Geraint Thomas has revealed his Ineos Grenadiers team didn’t share the same level of “belief” that he had before this year’s Tour de France. The 36-year-old won the Tour de Suisse in the build-up to the Tour in June and entered the race without being cited as team leader, with compatriot Adam Yates and Dani Martinez getting the nod. Ad/> With three stages remaining, Thomas is over 12 minutes ahead of Yates in the general classification, with Martinez down in 29th.

Only Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visam) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) have bettered Thomas during their intense battle for the yellow jersey. Tour de FranceTour de France Stage 19: Route map, how to watch as sprinters rewarded for Pyrenees slog6 HOURS AGO Asked if Ineos had the same belief as he did prior to this year’s Tour, Thomas answered: “I don’t think so. “From the negotiations with the contract, it’s just how it was,” he said.

“It’s all talk about the younger generation now. “They obviously do believe that I can still be good and that I can still contribute to the team but Egan [Bernal] is the leader and he crashed. Then it’s Dani and Yates, and I was the leadout man in Suisse.” Tour de France Stage 19 live — Van Aert eyes another win on day for sprinters Lopez suspended by Astana Qazaqstan amid links to drug trafficking probe Since winning the Tour in 2018 and finishing second a year later to team-mate Bernal, Thomas has had a difficult two seasons on the bike.