Tour de France: Geraint Thomas to battle on despite suffering from fractured pelvis

Geraint Thomas has vowed to battle on at the Tour de France, despite having suffered a broken pelvis on the first stage.

Thomas had ears full of his Team Sky colleagues urging him on over the team radio on stage three. Team leader Chris Froome said: "He obviously wants to be here and be a part of this. For us, if he can survive through the next few days, it is number one.

Team-mates show support

"He came up after 100km today, came up to the front of us, and said, 'Yeah, c'mon!' That made us all smile. He has got fighting spirit. He is in pain, but he is really up for it and that really lifts us." Despite soldiering on, Thomas is unlikely to be able to give Team Sky the sort of boost they were hoping for from him in Tuesday's stage-four team time trial in Nice. Team principal Sir Dave Brailsford admitted Thomas would be little more than a passenger, although that will not affect Team Sky's results, as the team is credited with the time of the fifth rider to cross the line. Brailsford said: "We all have different tolerances to pain, but the determination and level of suffering required to ride on a course like this, with its twists and turns where you can never get into any kind of rhythm, was really considerable. "He suffered an awful, awful lot. He deserves every bit of recognition and support for his suffering."