‘Too crazy!’ – Geraint Thomas urges fans ‘to let us race’ after being ‘hit’ on Alpe d’Huez at Tour de France

Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) has said some fans are “too crazy” following a lively finale on Alpe d’Huez during Stage 12 of the Tour de France.

Thomas finished alongside Vingegaard and Pogacar, 3’23” down on Pidcock. The result moved the Welshman back up to third on the general classification – 2’26” in arrears of Vingegaard – with Romain Bardet (DSM) dropping off the podium to fourth.

The 36-year-old Welshman has fond memories of the mountain pasture after becoming the first rider to win atop Alpe d’Huez in yellow back in 2018, and while Pidcock’s win was marked by some stunning scenes as the Brit weaved through throngs of fans, Thomas had words of caution after the race.

“Some of them were just too crazy,” began Thomas during a post-stage interview.

“I got hit a few times on the arm. Lucky there’s no flares. That was good because it can just choke you.

“But it’s great to have the fans but they just need to let us race you know because it’s feels a bit crazy sometimes.”

The win propelled Pidcock back into the top 10 on GC, moving up to eighth, and Thomas was full of praise for the 22-year-old.

“Yeah, it is great to see him do well,” added Thomas.

“He is the second Brit to win up here. It’s a nice accolade to have – fantastic for him. You know, he’s a super talent. He’s been riding really well.

“He wasn’t great yesterday, but he had the opportunity to go on the move today and, looking at the guys in the break, we were confident that he could do something; yeah, great, great day.”

Pidcock was unleashed with 128km remaining of the queen stage as he quickly hoovered up the day’s break with some terrifying descending, taking compatriot Chris Froome (Israel–Premier Tech) with him.

He attacked to whittle the front group down to five, with Froome still in the mix, before setting off decisively with 10.5km to go on Alpe d’Huez. Louis Meintjes (Intermarche–Wanty–Gobert Materiaux) set off in pursuit with Froome close behind, but neither could live with the 22-year-old from Leeds. Froome put in the biggest performance since his return from his horror crash in 2019 to take a heroic third.

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