‘That blinking gilet’ – Geraint Thomas laments failing to race in skinsuit in Tour de France time trial

Sport is about marginal gains, and Geraint Thomas arguably missed out during the opening stage of the Tour de France after racing the time trial with a gilet on.

In horrible conditions for the Grand Depart in Copenhagen, Thomas had a gilet on to keep warm prior to getting on the start ramp.

But he forget he had it on until it was too late, and had to race the 13.2km with the jacket on.

The Eurosport Breakaway studio speculated that the skinsuits cost in the region of £5,000 and are designed to allow the riders to cut thorough the air – potentially shaving seconds off a time.

“The legs were good,” Thomas told Eurosport after the stage. “It’s just shame about the start and that blinking gilet.

“Because I zipped it up and it was all nice and snug, I totally forgot I had it on.

“Nobody spotted it either and that was cracking me a bit as well.

“I did think about taking it off, but that would be a bit dodgy as well.”

The Ineos Grenadiers rider has form for crashing, so staying upright in treacherous conditions was a positive – as was the power in his legs.

“The first half of that I think was the worst cornering I’ve ever done in a TT,” Thomas said. “When everyone is saying take it easy, don’t take risks, I just did not flow at all. It just felt so bitty and stop-start.

“When I heard the time-check, 18 seconds down on (Mathieu) Van der Poel, I was like ‘sod it, let’s just race.’ And then I went better.

“The main thing is the legs felt good. It felt really good and once I was going in a straight line and put the power down, I felt like I had a bit of power.”

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