British cycling legend and Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas has revealed he is planning on completing an Ironman triathlon after confirming his retirement from the pro peloton will come at the end of this season.
A double Olympic Gold medallist in team pursuit, Thomas won cycling’s biggest prize when he triumphed in the Tour de France in 2018, becoming the first Welshman to do so.
Now, after achieving everything there is to win in cycling, he’s turning his attention to swim, bike and run as he plots his retirement and future challenges.
Run will ‘need work’
Like many retired elite athletes, Thomas is itching to continue pushing himself even when he leaves his day job behind.
Whilst the cycling section may be a breeze, he is under no illusions that the swim and run parts of an Ironman may take him some time to master.
“I want to do an Ironman,” Thomas told the BBC.
“I only run two or three times a year, so that’s something that needs a bit of work! It’s about challenging myself in different ways.
“Having options is always good. I need a purpose. Since I was about 17 or 18, I’ve always been working towards a goal.
“To not be working towards anything would be nice for maybe a month, then I’ll just go crazy, so I’ll definitely have to have some goals.”
Thomas will be able to get plenty of advice from his INEOS teammate Cam Wurf who has combined his cycling career with that of a pro triathlete and notched another top 10 at the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona last year.
And he won’t be the first retired athlete to cross sports and get into triathlon after he hangs up his saddle.
Former Germany international and football World Cup winner André Schürrle for example recently confirmed he will be competing at Challenge Roth this year.
A Cardiff send off?
Whilst Thomas might be planning his dream Ironman schedule for the future, he’s still got his eyes on the prize as he enters the final year of his career with cycling team INEOS Grenadiers.
“I think now the decision is official, you do start to reflect because when you’re in it, it’s just one thing after the next, year after year