Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) began his 2018 campaign with a strong showing and a welcome surprise at the Volta ao Algarve.
At the finish of stage 2, the consensus around the Team Sky bus was that stage winner Michal Kwiatkowski would be pulling on the race leader's yellow jersey after winning the stage.
The Polish rider had edged out Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) and Thomas on the summit finish at Foia, and with no time bonuses on offer Thomas began warming down on the rollers, assuming – like most of those around him – that Kwiatkowski would be in yellow. However, the Welshman's post-race routine was abruptly interrupted when a race official dragged him back to the podium after the organisers awarded the lead based on a count back of finishing positions over the first two stages.
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"I was surprised as well. There are no time bonuses so it's just done on places. It's a nice surprise, I guess," a bemused Thomas said as he stepped off the podium.
Thomas came into the final climb of the stage with ambitions of supporting Kwiatkowski, and duly paced the former world champion up the final few meters of the climb.
According to Thomas, he and his teammates were inspired by Wout Poels, who won the first mountain stage at the Ruta del Sol just hours earlier.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/geraint-thomas-takes-yellow-at-volta-ao-algarve
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