The China Mail - Thomas expects two-year INEOS deal to be his last

The 37-year-old showed little sign of ageing as he narrowly missed out on a second Grand Tour victory at the Giro d'Italia in May.

"I still just love riding my bike - racing and training with the boys - every single aspect of it," said Thomas.

"Although you never say never, in my head this is my last contract.

"But I know that I still have two more big years in me and I wouldn't have continued in a different team."

Thomas joined Team Sky in 2010 and helped them become the dominant force at the Tour de France before being taken over by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe's petrochemicals giant INEOS.

The Welshman's crowning glory came in claiming the yellow jersey five years ago and he also finished on the podium in 2019 and 2022.

He skipped the Tour this year to concentrate on the Giro and Vuelta a Espana, but his tilt at the later was ruined by crashes early in the race.

Sky or INEOS combined to win seven out of eight editions of the Tour de France between 2012 and 2019.

But the British team has been usurped in recent years by Jonas Vingegaard's Jumbo-Visma and Tadej Pogacar's Team UAE.

Thomas said he is still hoping for another shot at Grand Tour glory, but did not rule out working as a domestique for one of his teammates.

"I want to continue to be highly competitive in anything really," Thomas added.

"Maybe look at going to the Classics again or ride GC (general classification) in Grand Tours or help whoever is going to be the next guy coming through, but I just want to have a positive impact on the team.

"I'm at that stage where I'm still hungry to perform but at the same time, I am happy to help the team.

"I want to try and help us push forward to get back to the very top of the sport."

M.Zhou--ThChM