The China Mail - 'Life and soul of the party', Thomas bows out of cycling

The affable 39-year-old Welshman who etched his name in cycling history with his 2018 Tour de France victory, was due to mingle with 4,000 lucky guests for his farewell shindig.

For a man who likes nothing better than watching the rugby with a pint, it was expected to be a boozy affair after a final race where thousands lined streets across Wales to catch one final glimpse of their cycling star.

After 19 years riding his bike professionally, "G" is expected to move into management with British team Ineos Grenadiers and offer his experience to the next generations of hopefuls.

"He's like the guy next door –- nobody has a bad word to say about him," his Team Sky principal Dave Brailsford said about Thomas after his Tour triumph.

"When he's on the bike he makes the sacrifices but when he's not, he's the life and soul of the party."

For his final day of racing, the Tour of Britain peloton gave him a guard of honour with their bikes

On the bike, few have had a more successful career.

He won two Olympic track gold medals, but his crowning moment was winning a Tour stage atop the legendary Alpe d'Huez climb while wearing the fabled yellow jersey, before going on to secure overall victory in cycling's most prestigious race.

When asked this week by Sky in Britain what his greatest achievement was in the sport, Thomas said: "Obviously Olympic medals were insane" but "I think the Tour was something else."

"My life definitely changed after that, and for the better."

- 'Crazy' career finish -

His road cycling palmares may not compare to the sport's greatest such as Eddy Merckx or current star Tadej Pogacar, but Thomas enjoyed success -- and near misses.

After winning the 2018 Tour at the relatively old age of 32 (Merckx's last major victories came at 29), Thomas went on to achieve impressive results in the twilight of his career.

He stood twice more on the Tour podium and twice in the Giro d'Italia top three, and won prestigious stage races like the Tour de Suisse and Tour de Romandie since 2018.

His first major stage race victory came only two months before he turned 30, at the 2016 Paris-Nice. He won the Criterium du Dauphine the month before his Tour success.

Before that he had briefly excelled as a one-day racer, winning the cobbled E3 in 2015, a year after securing top 10 finishes in the two cobbled Monuments: Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

That followed a highly-successful track cycling career in which he won Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012 in the team pursuit. He also won three world titles in the discipline.

Apart from his talent, his personality set him apart.

He launched a podcast with best friend, former cyclist and fellow Welshman Luke Rowe in 2021.

On the Youtube version of the podcast, Thomas is often seen stretched out on a bed holding the microphone on his chest -- a testament to his laid-back personality.

Wales's greatest ever cyclist was born into a working class Cardiff family in 1986. He joined the Maindy Flyers cycling club aged nine.

The final stage of the Tour of Britain went past the club's outdoor velodrome.

"It goes within 100 metres of mum and dad's house, it goes past the pub where I had my first pint," Thomas told British agency Press Association before the race began.

"It's just crazy, really," he added. Waiting for him at the finish line in Cardiff were his wife Sara and son macs.

He attended Whitchurch High School, alongside two other Welsh sporting greats: Sam Warburton from rugby union and footballer Gareth Bale.

Now, like the other two, he can enjoy his retirement as one of Wales's sporting greats.

U.Chen--ThChM