Tour de France champion honoured with guard of honour and castle celebration
GERAINT THOMAS brought the curtain down on a glittering career on Sunday (Sept 7) with an emotional farewell on the streets of Cardiff, in front of thousands of adoring fans.
The 39-year-old, who won the Tour de France in 2018 and claimed two Olympic gold medals, ended his professional racing career by completing the final stage of the Tour of Britain in his home city.
The stage began in Newport where Thomas received a guard of honour from fellow riders. The route was deeply personal, taking in the Maindy Velodrome where he first rode as a boy, passing pubs and landmarks linked to his youth, and even brushing past his parents’ home before sweeping into the Welsh capital.
Crowds lined the streets and roared as Thomas crossed the finish line in the city centre. “I was choking up on the bike, it was full circle for me,” he admitted afterwards. “Thank you, that’s all I can say – diolch.”
Later, more than 4,000 fans packed into Cardiff Castle for an official send-off, with tickets for the celebration snapped up in hours. Supporters waved Welsh flags and cheered as Thomas thanked the public for their support across two decades at the top of the sport.
To mark the occasion, his team Ineos Grenadiers rode in a specially-designed jersey featuring the Welsh dragon, a green collar, and a drawing by his young son Macs of his father on a podium. The jersey also carried the names of close friends, family and key dates from Thomas’s career.
Thomas first burst onto the scene as part of Britain’s golden track cycling squad, winning Olympic team pursuit golds in Beijing 2008 and London 2012, before turning himself into one of the world’s finest road riders. His Tour de France victory in 2018 made him the first Welshman to win the sport’s most prestigious race, cementing his place as a national hero.
Looking ahead, Thomas has said he is looking forward to more time with his family, including school runs and ordinary routines. He is expected to take up a management role with Ineos Grenadiers from 2026, guiding the next generation of riders.
For Cardiff, it was a fitting farewell to one of its greatest sporting sons. As the crowd’s chants of “Diolch, G” echoed through the city, the final chapter of Geraint Thomas’s racing story closed exactly where it began – at home.
